


Strangers in the Night

by MistressNoriko



Series: Close to You [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Attraction, Business Woman Asami, Date Rape Drug/Roofies, Drinking, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Korrasami - Freeform, MMA fighter Korra, Modern AU, Morning After, Non-bending AU, Strangers to Friends, breakfast date, no harm comes to anyone, safely home, strangers to something more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-01-16 08:32:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18517771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressNoriko/pseuds/MistressNoriko
Summary: Asami didn’t remember looking away from her drink. Hell, it never even left her hand. Thankfully, a strong stranger intervenes and helps her home. The next morning Asami realizes that she may be more attracted to the wonderful person who helped her the night before than she’s ever been attracted to anyone. And the kicker? Korra’s arms feel like the safest place on earth.  Or, Korra never expected her night to end up like this. Intervening between two strangers, a man who didn’t want to take no for an answer and had tested every ounce of self-restraint she possessed. Despite her anger, she can’t quite shake her attraction to the woman she helped. How could she possibly ask Asami for her number after the nightmare of a night she’s been through?





	1. More Than I Can Handle

**Author's Note:**

> This story has a happy ending and everyone makes it home safely. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING – the story deals with the after-effects of Asami’s drink being drugged by a sexual predator. However, beyond that, nothing non-consensual happens in this story. I’m not trying to normalize date-rape drugs by any means. My hope for individuals who read this is to inspire others to help each other out, especially women helping women when they feel unsafe out in the bars. If another woman needs you to pretend to be her best friend or girlfriend or sister or whatever for a bit so that she’s safe, help out however you can if you have the ability or capacity to do so.
> 
> Side note – the consistent misspelling of the man’s name in the first chapter is intentional. I hope it’s not too confusing! 
> 
> Enjoy!

 

The smile on her face couldn't feel more fake. How did this guy not pick up on the fact that she wasn't at all interested in him or the type of protein shake he had before working out every morning?

Years of doing business with men who acted just like him had trained Asami to put on her best professional smile and pretend to enjoy their interaction. She had tried to walk away from the man earlier, Norrlak or something, but he'd been insistent on sharing at least one drink as he'd reached out and held her elbow. She had had half a mind to agree and then down her entire drink, walk away, and be done with it, but she had come out to the bar to get away from her hotel room for a few hours. One free drink in exchange for subpar conversation couldn't hurt.

Right?

She brought her Manhattan to her lips and took a generous sip, reminding herself not to throw the entire drink back as he went to flex his bicep. Drinking the cocktail in one go might have been the better option because as she brought her drink away from her lips, her taste buds were utterly dissatisfied. She wasn't sure if she disliked the choice of whiskey the bartender had used for the classic mixed drink, causing the typical warmth of the whiskey to instead feel like a burn in the back of her nose, or if it was her conversational partner that made her unable to enjoy her go-to beverage.

Narluk, or whatever his name was, leaned against the bar top, resting his barely consumed pint down as he motioned with his free hand to his abs.

"I mean, you should give 'em a feel."

"I'll take your word for it," Asami said, giving a tight smile and bringing her drink up to her lips again.

"Oh c'mon," he said, making a quick grab for her wrist. "It's not every day you get to feel up a guy with a rock solid body like mine."

Her drink jostled in her hand, but she moved it in time to ensure it wouldn't splash out of the glass onto her white blouse. His touch around her bare wrist made the hair on the back of her neck stand on edge – his palm was lukewarm, rough, and his grip too tight. He wrenched her hand away from its previously relaxed position crossed under her chest and rammed her palm against his stomach.

Asami frowned. Sure, his abs were toned from what she allowed her hand to feel from where it had been forcefully placed, but his touch simply felt wrong and she had no intention of feeling more than the surface level touch. She pulled out of his clammy grip and shook her hand out.

She wanted to tear into him for the comment he'd made, but she didn't have the mental energy to dive into how conceited he sounded or that it wasn't some damn privilege to be in his presence or that he really needed to have someone's consent to touch them, even in a non-sexual manner. She'd spent the day in meeting after meeting with CEO's of various companies and financial institutions to try and cement a deal in the Southern Capital she'd been working on for the last six months. On top of that, she hadn't slept well the night before after flying down from Republic City. She simply didn't have the mental energy to start a conversation that was bound to be combative about his entitled behavior. Nor, she reasoned with herself, was it her job to educate him on how to be a decent human being.

She really needed to start traveling with more downtime scheduled at the beginning of her trips so she could recuperate from jet lag. Despite this being her fifth trip in two months, she still hadn't figured out how to schedule her time without exhausting herself. She'd hoped that a night out at the bar would help her sleep tonight as she never slept well in hotels in spite of how often she traveled for work. It was to the point that she felt that she'd need to buy or rent a condo down here, as the talks had been promising today and the future of her expansion in the south seemed inevitable. She'd even looked at a promising real estate firm on her lunch break today.

"Nice," was all she could bring herself to say as she flexed her hand open and closed twice.

She took another drink of her Manhattan and tried to down the whole thing but the drink hit her tongue, and she couldn't go through with a second gulp. Yeah. She didn't like whatever whiskey the bartender had used. But there was nothing keeping her here except her reputation of always being a likable businesswoman. She could simply put her drink down on the counter and wish him a good night and leave. There were plenty of other bars to go to. She didn't owe him a damn thing.

"And they're not just for show, either. I have core strength for days if you know what I mean," he said, suggestively waggling his eyebrows as he took a swig of his pint.

That was it. She'd agreed to one drink. She glanced at the reddish liquid in her glass – it was about half full. She didn't care that the whiskey wasn't her choice of label – she was going to down this drink.

She gave the sweetest smile that she could and then brought her drink up and threw the whole thing back. Her nose was filled with the feeling cheap liquor, the burn of alcohol radiating in the back of her throat and nose and caused her eyes to water slightly. At this point, she doubted the drink actually contained real whiskey.

"Oh ho! Nice!" the man hooted, raising his glass. He waved down the bartender and loudly proclaimed: "Get this woman another!"

 _Damnit,_  Asami thought as she put the glass down on the countertop a little too hard. She then used her thumb to wipe her lip before taking in a deep breath and didn't bother attempting to smile.

"Listen, I've had a lon—"

"Oh c'mon," he said over her. The bartender stopped making the drink and looked between Asami and the man. "The night is young!"

"No thank you. I agreed to one drink. I'm go—" Asami started, putting an apologetic hand up towards the bartender, trying to show that she didn't want another drink.

The man shook his head at the bartender and pulled a twenty out of his pocket and slid it across the countertop. The bartender arched an eyebrow at him, took another look to Asami, shrugged, and then continued making the drink.

Nortuk turned and put a hand on Asami's hip. "C'mon, c'mon, one more drink. I promise you won't regret it."

"I'm already regretting it," she said flatly as she tried to take a step back, her butt coming in contact with the barstool behind her.

"Oh, don't be like that, sweetheart," he said as his hand moved up Asami's hip to her waist.

"First off, I'm  **not**  your  _sweetheart_ ," she said as she grabbed his wrist. She moved his hand off of her body and pushed his limb back towards him. "Secondly, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop touching me."

"Hey," he said slowly, putting his hand up to show he wasn't holding anything. "No need to get bitchy. We're just having a good time. Relax!"

Asami opened her mouth, ready to start yelling at the man when the bartender slid the drink across the counter.

"Here you go," he said and then shuffled away to assist another patron down the bar.

Nurtok grabbed the stem of the glass of the new Manhattan and slid it closer. "C'mon. I'm sorry. We're having such good conversation. Do you really want to call it a night, already?"

The argumentative words that were forming in her head were lost in her mouth when she noticed something waving frantically over Nurtak's shoulder. He took her silence as a go-ahead to continue talking, which he did, changing the topic of conversation to something about his nearby apartment; but Asami wasn't paying attention to a single word.

A woman standing behind her evening hijacker stopped waving what seemed to be a napkin and then used both of her hands to hold it, showing that something had been scrawled on it. Asami tried to read it without looking too obvious.

The note, written in what looked like hasty permanent marker was quick and to the point:

 

> _Need Help?_  
>  YES – Touch neck  
>  NO – Move hair

Asami blinked and then looked at the woman more closely. From what she could see, the stranger had a darker complexion indicative of being from the Southern Capital and medium length brown hair that was pulled back into the stubbiest ponytail she'd ever seen. Her bright blue eyes were focused wholly on her, something that looked like genuine concern exuding from her expression.

Asami knew she could handle the man if he got handsy again. She'd been in martial arts and self-defense classes since the age of seven and wasn't the dainty flower that most people perceived her to be. But she was exhausted and knew that she was getting close to losing her temper. Not something she wanted to do, especially given how hard she'd worked to gain the trust of the people in the area in hopes to build a production site for her Sato-Snow-Mobiles. If she were to have a physical altercation, her deal that she was so close to closing and that she'd been working towards over the last eight months on could crumble despite the potential thousand or so jobs that the factory would bring to the area.

"Here, you haven't touched your drink," Nurlak said, pulling Asami's attention from the blue-eyed stranger. He was looking at her, a sneer plastered on his face as he offered her the second Manhattan.

Asami's eyes flashed from the stemmed glass full of reddish liquid quickly to the blue-eyed stranger. The girl could end up being just as bad at this guy. She could simply walk away for the night and be done with it. The girl arched a concerned eyebrow but held the napkin high enough for Asami to still be able to read it.

The insistent nudge of the drink from her man before her made her sigh as she looked back to him. She wasn't the type who was too proud to accept help. In a professional setting, asking for help built work relationships and made for better business. Couldn't the same be said for her personal life?

She gave Nalrik another tight smile and took the drink, bringing a hand up to rub the side of her neck.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the blue-eyed woman nod and then bend down to the bar top.

Asami narrowed her eyes, confused as to how that was helping before looking back to the man as he tipped the rim of his pint glass to her glass. Asami gave another forced smile but didn't bring her drink to her lips. She wasn't keen on ingesting more of the cheap whiskey. Perhaps she'd simply go to the hotel bar next time and pay for her own drinks, ensuring she was able to get the top shelf label she was accustomed to.

Nulrak droned on about something, but Asami had stopped listening. She just wanted to leave. She took a glance at her untouched drink in her hand and put it on the bar top. She held on to the stem of the glass so he wouldn't try to offer it to her again and looked up, nodding as if she was listening. But he kept blathering on about the size of something at his apartment, his eyes decidedly not even looking at her face or eyes. He was very much looking at her chest.

She wanted to cover up. She hated how she could feel good and confident in her clothing and then how quickly a man's gaze would make her want to cover up. She didn't dress for them. She dressed for herself. There was something empowering about a silk blouse, a pencil skirt, and a pair of stiletto heels, exactly what she was wearing tonight. Similar outfits had seen her through several extremely successful business meetings. She always kept the buttons up at work, and she hated the way her skin crawled now knowing that her chest was exactly where Norluk's dull brown eyes were looking.

Asami rolled her eyes, but then she caught movement behind the jabbering man and looked past him to see what the blue-eyed stranger was doing: The woman had straightened her posture from leaning over the bar top and then locked eyes with Asami. There was something comforting in her eyes that she hadn't felt in anyone she'd encountered so far on her various trip south. Especially no one she'd encountered so far in this bar, not even the bartender. The woman nodded before Asami's mind derailed too far and then held up a napkin that she'd unfolded to make as big as possible.

The scrawled writing read:

 

> _Lover – Touch hair_  
>  Fight – Cross arms  
>  Friend – Wave

Asami tried her best to read the napkin discreetly, and the man in front of her made it easy as he continued talking about his apartment, something about the thread count on his sheets. It was apparent that he was leading up to invite her to come home with him, which she wanted no part of.

Asami chewed on her lips; she didn't want to cause a bar fight, so she made a conscious effort not to cross her arms as the man rambled on. Not only did she not want this helpful stranger to get hurt for her sake, she still didn't want to be involved in any type of altercation that would jeopardize her Sato-Snow-Mobiles factory's future. This was a business trip, after all, so business was a priority in not screwing up.

She furrowed her brow before remembering to keep her face neutral, as Norluk was supposed to think she was still listening to him. Though, he probably wasn't paying attention to her face still. Asami reread the third line and withheld a sigh; she wasn't sure a friendly approach would get the hint across, either, with how aggressive the man had been at keeping her company.

So she took in a short breath and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear as she locked eyes with the blue-eyed stranger at the bar. It was the only option left and, who knew, it might get the point across that she really, really, wasn't interested in him.

Blue eyes smiled and nodded quickly before she moved to take off her hoodie. Asami wasn't sure what she was doing, but she was much more interested in looking at her than Naartik. The hoodie came up, pulling the back of the darker skinned woman's shirt up with it exposing her lower back, showing toned back muscles that met a colorful sports bra, immediately sparking a new-found interest for Asami. Blue eyes asked the bartender something before handing the hoodie over to them, presumably for safe keeping. Her shirt turned out to be a tank top that exposed beautifully sculpted shoulder and arm muscles that practically danced underneath her skin. Muscles that looked natural and not forced from protein shakes and too many hours at the gym. Her muscles were lean, much like her instructor's arms had been in her martial arts classes growing up.

Asami realized she'd bitten her lip and immediately stopped.

 _Why couldn't I have run into her first?_ she thought frustratedly as she glanced back to Nurrak.

 _Shit,_ she thought when she saw a grin spread across his face.  _He saw that, didn't he?_

He moved out of his drastic lean on the bar top and took a step towards Asami, his hand reaching out to caress her hip again after looking to her untouched drink that her fingers kept spinning on the bar top, up and down her body, and then vaguely at her eyes. Asami was pretty sure he was stuck on her chest again. She was regretting that she had undone the top three buttons of her silk blouse after leaving her last meeting.

"You don't seem interested in that second drink, so what do you say we—"

"There you are!"

Asami looked up and saw the dark-skinned woman jog up to them and immediately took a side step away from the handsy man, abandoning her unwanted drink on the bar top. She'd never been happier to see an absolute stranger in her life. The woman opened her arms and smiled widely at her. Here, Asami could see everything that blue eyes was wearing: her white athletic tank top was loosely tight over her torso, and the front of it was tucked into dark blue denim joggers that were sitting low on her hips. She looked like she belonged in a dance video, but Asami wasn't complaining. Simple the ensemble may have been but it worked on the toned woman and the bright white tank top contrasted nicely with her darker complexion and her bright eyes.

"I'm sorry I'm so late," the woman said as moved in closer to hug Asami.

Asami hadn't been prepared for the voice that came with the shorter woman. Her voice was more feminine than she'd been expecting, but that didn't matter. It was strange, her voice had a calming effect over Asami, and her smile was warm and inviting. How had she not seen her before now?

Without thinking it through, Asami moved her arms around the woman's neck, moving her nails up into the base of her hairline and pulled the shorter woman into a kiss, arching her body into their embrace. At first, blue eyes seemed to be caught off guard but quickly recovered, wrapping her hands around Asami's waist and pulling her close and returning the kiss. Blue eyes' lips were soft and malleable and, after her initial hesitation, fell effortlessly into the demanding rhythm that Asami quickly set.

Asami hadn't been prepared for how good the stranger felt. Her arms held her close, and she could feel her taut biceps against her ribs as she gently pulled her closer but appreciated that her hands stayed respectfully at the small of her back and her mid-back. Her hands were warm and strong and steadied her as she felt slightly weak in the knees. She immediately got the impression that this wonderfully kissable stranger would be able to give very satisfying massages… among  _other_  things.

At the thought of what her deft hands could be capable of, Asami let out the smallest of moans, ignoring a pull from between her legs as her imagination got away from her for a brief moment. She bit the woman's bottom lip, causing the slightly shorter woman to gasp and then slid her tongue into her mouth, exploring for more contact. The woman made a whimpering noise of pleasure against her lips and allowed Asami's tongue to go where it pleased, her own tongue tentatively going past Asami's lips.

She could easily get lost kissing the shorter woman. She tried to tell herself that she was putting on a display of over the top affection to get the hint across to Narpuk, but the truth was she was simply lost in the magnetic stranger's lips. The feeling of her pliable lips moving with her own was intoxicating, making it far too easy to play the part of a lover.

She tasted a slight hint of alcohol and something akin to peppermint as their tongues brushed against each other, perhaps from gum or from some drink blue eyes had consumed earlier. The woman didn't feel intoxicated, though. She didn't smell any alcohol on her, only the soothing scent of lemongrass and eucalyptus – from her body wash, perhaps. But no matter how good she felt against her or how skilled her lips moved with her own, Asami knew she couldn't continue kissing her forever. At least, not without leaving the bar first. And getting rid of the man that the stranger had been so kind to help her get away from.  _And_  a brief talk of boundaries for the evening.

Asami slowed the kiss as her head was starting to spin. She'd never gotten lightheaded from kissing someone before, but with how good of a kisser the shorter woman was, she didn't mind one bit. She couldn't help herself and dragged the shorter woman's bottom lip through her teeth gently one more time before completely breaking the kiss.

"Holy fuck," blue eyes exhaled, whispering just above her breath, only for Asami to hear. Her breath was heavy, and her ice blue eyes were slightly darkened by her now enlarged pupils. Apparently, Asami hadn't been the only one to enjoy their exchange.

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me," Asami teased, remembering to play the part of a lover. She played up the sultry tone in her voice for Naptuk, but she honestly didn't have to try very hard. The stranger in her arms was far more alluring than the man at the bar, and a demanding part of her brain wanted to immediately leave the bar and simply go somewhere with the shorter woman and get to know her. Thoroughly.

The woman smiled and then brushed her nose against Asami's. It was cute and playfully affectionate, not at all what Asami had been expecting after the kiss they'd shared. It made Asami give her first real, unforced smile of the day.

Who was this woman?

"How could I forget about you?" blue eyes asked softly, but loud enough for the man by the bar to hear. "It just took me a bit to get away from work."

"Heh, well my night just got a whole lot more promising."

Asami blinked.

How could he still be standing there? How had that not gotten the message across? And why was she still feeling light-headed? Asami knew it had been some time since her last intimate encounter. Was she simply just that much out of practiced that she didn't remember what kissing until breathless felt like?

Blue eyes arched an eyebrow and turned to face Naptuk, her hands not leaving Asami's back.

"Uh, do we know you?" she asked, looking back and forth between Asami and the persistent man.

"What? Oh, no," he said, a sneer still pulling on his lips. "But I was just about to ask your girlfriend to come home with me. Why don't we make it a party and you both come?" he asked, the disgustingly lecherous wink giving the indication that he'd meant  _come_ as a double entendre.

The glare that flashed across blue eyes' face was hot enough to melt iron Asami thought as she saw her expression change. She then took in a quick breath, pressing her lips together as if she was forcing herself to not say what had initially come to mind and then turned back to Asami, forcing a half smile.

"I'm not sure about you, babe, but I'm not at all interested."

Asami smiled and leaned forward, kissing the shorter woman simply. Watching the expression change so rapidly on the stranger's face made her think that she was a protective partner and Asami suppressed biting at her lip. She found it incredibly sexy and further frustrated herself for not seeing this woman first when she'd entered the bar some thirty minutes ago.

She put a hand on the plane of the shorter woman's abdomen and straightened her posture. The muscle underneath her hand, despite being covered by the fabric of her tank top, was warm and sculpted and was much more inviting to the touch than Niptik's had been. Asami slid her other arm across the woman's back and leaned into her. The minimal movement made her feel like she was about to fall and she grabbed slightly at the fabric of her shirt to steady herself.

 _Wait, am I drunk?_ she thought.  _I can't be. I had one drink. Why the hell do I feel like the room is about to start spinning?_

Asami ignored whatever was wrong with her equilibrium and leaned into the shorter woman again, kissing her jawline as she carefully crafted what she was about to say. She faced the still sneering man at the bar but didn't take her eyes off of the woman under her hands.

"She keeps me coming almost more than I can handle. So, it's a hard pass from us," Asami said.

A rosy hue blossomed on the shorter woman's cheeks when Asami's words registered. She then cleared her throat and gave what Asami thought was supposed to be a boastful grin. Acting clearly wasn't this girl's strong suit. But her subpar acting skills didn't stop her from sliding a muscled arm around Asami's waist and resting her hand on Asami's opposite hip, pulling her slightly closer.

Asami registered that the woman's hand was warm and inviting, but she couldn't focus on it. Something just didn't feel right, and it had nothing to do with the woman holding her. Her ears were beginning to ring, and she couldn't shake the light headed feeling that had come on after kissing the shorter woman.

"Oh yeah? I'm sure I could make you come in ways she's never even tried with you."

She felt the woman next to her tense, the muscles in her arms and abdomen growing taut.

"Are you kidding me?" blue eyes said irritably.

"We could make it a competition if you'd like," Naptuk said, a smug expression on his face as he took a step forward and reached out to touch Asami's hip again.

Blue eyes was faster; she moved her hand from behind Asami's back to in front of her stomach and took a step in front of her, blocking the man from his approach.

"We're not interested," she said more sternly, articulating each word at almost a growl.

The movement of the shorter woman caused Asami's butt to hit the barstool again. Her legs felt weak and she decided sitting was the best option. She could hear the two continue to argue, but she couldn't focus on what they were saying because the room was definitely beginning to spin and her stomach felt like it was about to start churning.

She didn't care how strong the bartender had or hadn't made her drink, there was no way one drink could make her feel this intoxicated. And although the woman had expertly malleable lips, this wasn't some side effect of lust pulling at her mind from the rapid introduction to the shorter woman's body. Her limbs felt heavy, and even though she was sitting, she felt as though she was about to fall over any second. She felt incredibly off balance and the bar, although she knew it was loud and could hear the angry tones of either people in front of her, sounded muffled and far away.

 _What the hell is happening to me?_  she thought drastically as panic started to set in.

She needed to grab something to keep her steady. She reached up and grabbed hold of the bar top but moving her hand that high made her feel like she was about to fall backward. She immediately moved her hand back down and reached to touch the woman in front of her. Her fingers grabbed the soft material of the blue eyes' tank top, and she clutched the fabric in her hand.

The woman took a small step back, her butt coming flush to Asami's knees. Asami reached up with her other hand, grabbed another fist full of fabric and leaned her head forward and rested her forehead between the muscled woman's shoulder blades. She tried to focus on the smell of lemongrass and eucalyptus that permeated off of the dark-skinned woman. The smell calmed her stomach, but the warmth radiating from the woman made her feel sleepy.

Something was definitely wrong.


	2. Girlfriend? Lover? Girlfriend.

This had not been the greeting she'd expected from the woman at the bar. Her searing lips almost made Korra forget why'd she'd come over in the first place. The woman's slender frame was surprisingly demanding: the way that her nails had dragged along her skin and pulled their bodies close; the commanding movements of her mouth, ensuring Korra knew exactly how she wanted to be kissed; the way that her body began to arch into her own. Or was that her own doing? Her hands were on the slender woman's lower middle of her back, was holding her flush against her, whimpering slightly as the woman bit her lower lip and then slid her expertly deft tongue into her mouth.

She had to remind herself that she wasn't  _actually_ making out with this beautiful stranger and kept her hands rooted in place in spite of how tempting the woman's body in her hands felt underneath the soft, silk-like fabric of her blouse and how the woman's skillful lips and tongue made her head spin and something pull hungrily between her legs. This was all just for show. She had come over to help her get away from mister creepy who didn't seem to understand the slender woman's polite rejections and even her more firm rejections that she'd seen from across the bar. But spirits this felt amazing.

This wasn't at all how she'd imagined her night going. Aside from never having kissed a complete and total stranger before, she hadn't gone out tonight looking to meet someone. She'd gone out with some friends of hers, poised to have a good time only to be left an hour into their pub crawl because her friends had run into some of their old friends from high school and were invited to a different party. She'd simply gotten a text as she'd exited the bathroom telling her not to worry about catching up and that they'd see her another night.

She had been beyond annoyed with them. She was so busy with her training schedule lately that she hardly had time for fun outings anymore and tonight had been her first night free in what felt like ages. And not to mention her chance to drink casually had been severely limited once she'd landed a professional MMA sponsorship. Her coach was a hard-ass and didn't believe in cheat days, but she was on a two-week vacation while her coach went on a press tour to learn about all the other rookie fighters that would make their debut this season, and her debut press event was set for when he got back.

When she'd come out of the bathroom, she almost immediately saw the man and the woman she was currently kissing from across the somewhat busy bar room. The man had reached out and grabbed her wrist and placed it on his stomach and the woman quickly pulled her hand away and shook it out, looking incredibly uncomfortable. She had wanted to come up and intervene then, but she didn't know the context. She heard her persistent coach's voice chime in her head  _understand the situation before you rush in._  But her coach was right. She didn't know the relationship between the two people despite knowing the look of uncomfortableness strewn across the woman's face. Her gut reaction was to go over and punch the guy, but that was probably her irritation with her friends being projected towards him. And besides, if she started a fight with a random stranger in a bar, she could run the risk of being barred from competition. Definitely not the start she wanted for her debut season.

Instead of being her usual hot-headed self and rushing in she'd gone to the bartender and asked for a marker and took a stack of napkins. She'd been surprised when the taller woman had picked the lover option, but now she was glad that she had. She was happy to be helping the woman out of an uncomfortable situation, first and foremost, but she'd be lying if she tried to say that the kiss was anything other than amazing.

The slender woman in her arms slowed the kiss down, starting to draw away. Korra wanted to keep kissing her, to pull the woman into a corner booth and continue letting the slightly taller woman explore her mouth and let her hands explore wherever they pleased. But she hadn't come over for that. She was acting the part. Maybe the woman didn't even actually like her or women in general. Maybe she was so desperate to get away from this creep of a man that she thought this was the only option.

She ignored her own desires to pull her back into the kiss and let the woman pull away at her own pace. The taller woman pulled away briefly and then kissed her again, smiling into her lips before sucking on her bottom lip and pulling away with Korra's lip between her teeth.

 _Holy fuck_ , Korra thought. She almost wished she was sitting down as an ache pulsated between her legs with how incredibly turned on the slender woman had made her with her lips alone and in such a short span of time. She felt slightly short of breath and finally opened her eyes to see the slender woman's bright green eyes and a proud smile humming on her lips.

Was she proud of her handiwork?

Did she know the effect she'd had on Korra's body?

Was this the outcome she'd wanted to render? If so, Korra was all too happy to let her keep going if she wanted.

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me," the woman said, winking with her left eye so that the man to their right couldn't see.

Korra wasn't sure if the tone of her voice was meant for her or if she was playing it up for the man to the right. Her head was so foggy from the kiss that she felt like she needed a minute or five to remember what she was doing over here.

Korra blinked a few times forcing the momentary fog to dissipate and then smiled. Right. Play the part. She had to play the part of the girlfriend. Lover? Girlfriend. She knew how to be a girlfriend. Being a lover with no attachments wasn't something Korra had ever experienced.

She couldn't stop the smile that spread on her lips. She felt like she was coming off of a high after kissing this woman. She leaned in and brushed her nose against the taller woman's, nudging slightly as she bit the corner of her own lip.

"How could I forget about you?" Korra asked. She remembered to ask louder than she normally would speak when she was this close to a person. She wanted to be whispering. For that whispering to invite another glorious kiss from the woman in her arms.

Out of her peripheral, she could see that the creep hadn't moved at all and was still very much watching. She suppressed a groan and a glare simultaneously and added: "It just took me a bit to get away from work."

She panicked a little. She was the world's worst liar and doubted that she sounded at all convincing. But that didn't matter because the taller woman in her arms smiled and she looked so sweet that Korra had a momentary lapse, forgetting that they had an audience. Her green eyes shined with a glint that simply struck Korra speechless. The woman was breathtaking. Her long, voluminous black hair spilled over her shoulder and made the brightness of her smile that much more noticeable.

"Heh, well my night just got a whole lot more promising," the man to their right said in the most disgusting, self-assuming tone Korra had ever heard.

Right. She still had to deal with creepo. She could get lost in this woman's smile later if she was interested of course. But right now, she had a job to do. A job she'd volunteered to do. Time to get the skeevy creep of a weasel-slug to leave.

She arched a disinterested eyebrow and looked, making direct eye contact with the creep, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Uh, do we know you?"

"What? Oh, no," the creep said, a sneer pulling on the edge of his mouth. "But I was just about to ask your girlfriend to come home with me. Why don't we make it a party and you both come?"

She glared at him before she could stop herself. His sleazy double entendre didn't go unnoticed as it was accompanied with one of the lewdest winks she'd seen since her early gym days when she was still a teen.

The slender woman moved one of her hands from behind Korra's neck to rest on her clavicle. The movement stalled the slurry of curse words and insults that had been forming at the back of Korra's throat. She took in a quick breath and pressed her lips together. If she started yelling at the man she knew herself well enough to know that that had a high chance of leading to her punching him. And punching him and possibly getting an assault charge on her record would get her barred from competition for sure. And the woman had had the option to have her start a fight and she'd specifically picked otherwise. So she had to keep her temper under wraps.

She forced a smile and turned back to the slender woman. Looking into her green eyes calmed her enough to quell her hot temper. She searched her face for a moment and then blinked hard.

Priority number one was getting this guy to go away. She could gawk later.

"I'm not sure about you, babe, but I'm not at all interested," Korra settled on saying in what she hoped was a disinterested tone. Acting wasn't something she had any practice with. Punching, kicking, and flipping? That she could do without any active thought. But this whole playing nice when all she wanted to do was ram her palm against the man's nose was proving to be difficult.

She turned slightly away from the woman to face the man more. She wanted to be able to put herself between them should he try anything in an attempt to change their minds. But before she could fully pivot her position to be front facing to the creep next to them, the slender woman moved forward and kissed her. The kiss was simple, but her lips were still incredibly soft and took the remaining hostile edge off of Korra's mind.

 _Spirits, this woman had no right to feel this good,_ Korra thought as the woman leaned away, breaking their kiss. The green-eyed woman moved her slender hand with meticulously painted red fingernails that was on Korra's clavicle down, skipping over Korra's chest and then raking her nails along her stomach. Korra had to make a conscious effort to not let her eyes flutter or let any sort of noise to escape her throat. Her nails gave a promise of much more sensuous actions as they moved down the plane of her abdomen, even though it was still through the cloth of her shirt.

After a moment, the addictive stranger gently grabbed the front of her tank top, leaned into Korra again and placed the most a gentle kiss on her jaw, causing a shiver to run throughout her entire body.

"She keeps me coming almost more than I can handle. So, it's a hard pass from us," the slender woman said as she turned away from Korra's ear.

 _I do what now?!_ Korra thought, feeling her eyes go slightly wide and her cheeks grow hot. She blinked to keep her expression from ruining their cover. She tried to smile but then tried to make it look like she knew exactly what the woman was talking about and that she was definitely capable of doing what she'd said as she slid her arm around her waist, letting her hand fall simply on her hip.

Before Korra's mind could get away from her, imagining just how much  _more than she could handle_ could be or what that night of passion would look like with the goddess in her arms, the creep in front of them licked his lips and grinned himself.

 _I hate this guy,_ she thought as her grin faltered. She couldn't stand the look on his face as he looked the slender woman up and down, causing Korra to instinctively hold her a little tighter and closer to herself.

"Oh yeah?" he started, licking the front of his top teeth. "I'm sure I could make you come in ways she's never even tried with you."

_Don't punch him. Don't punch him. Do not, for the love of fuck, punch him._

"Are you kidding me?!" Korra challenged.

The creep shrugged, his grin spreading wider. "We could make it a competition if you'd like." He took a step forward, reaching his hand out to touch the slender woman's hip.

 _Not today, you sleazy weasel-slug,_  Korra thought as she quickly moved her arm from around the woman's waist to stand completely in front of her, blocking the man's extended hand. She had half a mind to grab his wrist and bend it back but refrained. Her coach would be so proud of the restraint she was showing.

"We're not interested," she said sternly, articulating each syllable slowly and purposefully.

"Why's that?" he asked, bringing his beer to his pompous lips and taking a quick sip. "You've never had a guy like me before."

"Last time I checked," Korra said, bringing herself to her full height. "Women didn't need to explain themselves to clueless idiots like you." She was still the shortest one of the bunch, but that didn't stop her. She knew she could wipe the floor with his face with minimal effort if she allowed herself to resort to violence. The constant chirping of her coach in the back of her head kept her fists to herself, though.

He let out a singular laugh. "I think you're confused. I know I'm good. I could get any girl in this bar if I wanted." He gave a smile that made Korra's skin crawl. "Your girl should feel flattered that I chose her."

"She isn't some rabaroo that you can pick out and take home from the pound because you  _picked her_ ," Korra spat back. "She told you no, and that's that."

The creep grinned and leaned in close to Korra, dropping his voice slightly. "What? Are you concerned that you won't get any attention? I mean, if you're a good girl, I'm sure I can take care of you, too."

Korra felt her face twitch in anger. Before she could stop herself, she pushed his chest with one of her hands, forcing distance between them again.

"Are you fucking dense?" Korra shot at him, making sure to pull her hand back before she was tempted to make further contact with her fist or grab him by the collar. "In what fucking universe does this interaction end with you getting laid by either of us?!"

"Hey, hey," the sleaze-ball said, bringing both hands up to his chest, putting his palms out. He smiled, like a car salesman trying to salvage a sale. "No need to get haughty. Calm down."

The calming demeanor of the woman behind her had long since left, and she could only faintly hear the cautioning cries of her coach in the back of her head about not flat out punching the man in the face. Or nose. Or cervix. Or punting him square in the junk.

"Calm down? Calm down?!" she exclaimed, raising her voice as she repeated herself. She felt the blood pulsing in her neck and was sure her anger was beginning to make her flush. She didn't care. This guy had obviously never been told no before, and Korra felt it was high time he was. "She's told you no. I've told you no. And you're still thinking you can wiggle your way into getting either of us to go home with you. The answer is still no, you delusional fuck-twit!"

The weasel-slug frowned, furrowing his eyebrows and letting his shoulders fall as his expression changed from smug to angry. "Alright, well if she wasn't interested, then why did she let me buy her a drink?"

"Because she was being polite?" Korra offered, shrugging her shoulders reflexively. "Maybe because she took pity on you since no one else apparently wanted your goddamn company?" Korra balled her fists and remained rooted in front of the slender woman. She felt like she would need to apologize to her later for causing a scene. She had picked the lover option, not the fight option. And here Korra was, her stubborn hotheadedness winning out. Again.

"And just because  _ **you**_  decided to buy her a drink doesn't mean  _ **she**_  owes you a damn thing!" she added. If she was going to teach this guy a lesson, she might as well teach him that women didn't owe him a damn thing regardless of what he gave them. Another lesson apparently no one had taken the time to teach him.

"Sure she does!" he spat, his voice finally rising.

"Excuse you?!" Korra was practically yelling now.

"That's how this works," he said angrily. He then used his hands to articulate the apparent universal procedure of events. "Guy and pretty girl meet at a bar. Guy buys a pretty girl a drink. Pretty girl goes home with him. Guy gets to fuck pretty girl to his heart's content for the night. Guy and pretty girl go their separate ways in the morning."

How did men like this exist? How had his parents raised him to be so entitled and completely unaware of how consent worked. How had this guy not gotten a broken nose before for acting this way around women? Her previous thought of possibly having projected her original anger with her friends onto him dissipated completely.

Korra's arms shook as her fingernails dug into the palms of the balled fists. She could no longer hear the voice of her coach in the back of her head and was about ready to move forward and grab the sorry excuse of a human in front of her by the shirt and threaten him within an inch of his life. But she felt something tug at the back of her shirt. Vaguely familiar fingernails moved along her lower back before the fabric of her tank top was grabbed.

Korra took in a quick breath and took a small step back, her butt coming in contact with the woman's legs. It felt like her knees. Apparently, she'd sat down.

Worry unexpectedly halted the angry thoughts in Korra's mind, making her take a pause – had she frightened the woman?

 _Shit,_  she thought. That was the last thing she wanted to do. The woman had done nothing wrong. Her only fault tonight was not declining a drink from a possibly, at one point, charismatic stranger. A simple misjudgment, and no more a fault than picking out an outfit to wear for the day. And here she was, hiding behind Korra's back as the two adults argued at progressively increasing volumes.

Korra clenched her jaw and lowered her voice, locking hostile eyes with the weasel-slug. She then, very calmly, said, "I don't know where you're from, but that is not how it works around here."

"Well, that bitch of yours should have thought about that before leading me on!"

Something snapped in the back of Korra's mind. From everything she'd seen from across the bar room, including what she'd seen and overheard once she'd made it to the bar, at no point did it seem like this woman had been leading him on. She wanted to call him out, but that was bound to ruin the cover story of the two of them being together or that Korra had  _just arrived_  at the bar when she'd come up.

"I doubt my girlfriend was leading you on, dipshit," Korra finally settled on, tightening her balled fist further as she felt her nails dig deeper into her palms. The pain from them kept her hands where they were instead of moving forward to cause the much deserved harm to the weasel-slug.

Her anger stopped rising when she felt another hand grab at the back of her tank top followed quickly by something against her back, just beneath her shoulders. She blinked and slowly looked over her shoulder to see that the taller woman was holding onto her and had leaned her forehead against her back. She could hear the man yammering on about something, but she wasn't paying attention to him anymore. She couldn't see the woman's face, but something didn't seem right. She focused on how the woman was holding her shirt, and she could feel a slight tremor.

She was about to ask her if she was alright when a loud booming voice forced her to look up.

"Everything alright over here?"

Korra looked up to see a large, muscular southern water tribe native who was wearing a black shirt with white lettering that read  _bouncer._ The bouncer looked familiar, possibly someone she'd seen at the gym or someone she'd gone to school with.

"No, actually," Korra admitted. She reached one of her hands behind herself and gently held onto the woman who was clutching her shirt. Her skin felt clammy. Korra frowned and then motioned her free hand to the weasel-slug. "This asshat won't leave my girlfriend alone."

"Hey!" the creep protested.

The large bouncer crossed his impressively large arms over his chest and arched an eyebrow as he looked down at the creep. He then looked to the bartender.

"I was just about to call you," the bartender said simply, grabbing the abandoned glass that the woman had been spinning on the countertop and the half-consumed pint of beer.

"I haven't done anything—"

"Uh-huh, sure," the bouncer said, interrupting the weasel-slug and grabbing him by the collar. "Time for you to leave, bud."

"Hey! Hey, I have rights!"

"And we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone," the bouncer said, his tone completely devoid of any emotion.

The weasel-slug tried to pull the bouncer's massive hand off of his collar. The bouncer's flat expression sighed and pulled the man forward, his other hand reaching for the back of his pants and firmly grabbing his belt.

Korra was impressed with how the bouncer moved the creep, quickly lifting him in the air and carrying him away towards the entryway of the bar holding him by the pant-line and collar, almost like a battering ram. She watched just long enough to see the bouncer use the man's face to push the exit door open and allowed herself to smile. The man deserved much worse treatment, but she was glad that he was getting some sort of humiliation at least. And she was glad that the bouncer had come in when he had.

Korra turned around fully, letting her hand move from the slender woman's wrist to both of her hands touching either of her shoulders. She kneeled down slightly, sitting on the back of her heels and looked up at the woman. She looked pale, and her eyes were shut tight.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked gently, her thumbs caressing the outside of either of the woman's arms, moving from touching the soft silk of her blouse's short sleeves to touching her skin. She wasn't nearly as warm as she had been when she'd first embraced her. She definitely felt clammy.

The woman's hands moved and grabbed either of Korra's biceps, slowly shaking her head. "I don't feel right."

 _Feel right?_  Korra pondered as she felt her brow furrow as she continued to search the woman's face. The woman took in a shaky breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth, just as shaky before swallowing hard.

"How can I help?" Korra asked, her grip on the woman's shoulder's firming.

"I," she started. She took in a few more breaths and then opened her eyes, blinking several times before her green eyes focused on Korra's face. Her green eyes looked slightly dull, and her pupils didn't look right, like they were too large for the amount of lighting in the dim bar.

"You…?"

The woman swallowed and tightened her grip on either of Korra's arms. "I think I need to go to the restroom."

Korra nodded. "Can you walk or do you need help?"

"I'm not sure."

Korra narrowed her eyes. There was a slight slur to the woman's speech. Was she just drunk?

"I'm going… I'm going to try and stand," the woman said slowly. Korra wasn't sure if she was trying to convince herself or was simply telling Korra what she was doing.

Korra nodded and stood from her semi-seated position.

"Oh, hey! Here's your hoodie," the bartender said abruptly.

Korra looked to her left just in time as the bartender tossed her hoodie across the bar top to her. On pure reflexes, her hands left the slender woman's shoulders to catch it, part of the hood smacking her lightly in the face.

Korra grumbled and decided that she was probably going to need her hands and quickly moved to put it back on instead of holding onto it or tying it around her waist. She'd handed it off because she had hoped that showing off her muscles would have been a subtle warning to the creep to back off, but it hadn't seemed to have any effect.

Just as her head came through the neck hole of the hoodie, she felt two very unsteady hands on her stomach, just under her bra-line.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Korra said, letting her hoodie fall the rest of the way on as her hands hastily went back to the now standing woman as she swayed slightly to the right. "Easy. I've got you."

"I'm sorry. I just need a second," the woman said as she leaned forward, resting her head on Korra's shoulder.

Korra stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. She effectively had a woman with her hands up the front of her hoodie because she'd placed them there before she'd gotten the garment on fully. But the woman being so close to her and no distraction of her lips or an on looking creep let Korra register that the woman smelled heavenly, too. She couldn't quite place the scent, other than it was subtle perfume, probably expensive, and reminded her of a beach after a thunderstorm; it was crisp yet demanding, despite its subtleness.

Ignoring the uncomfortableness of her hoodie bunched on her chest, she moved her arms from the woman's outer arms to gently on her waist, ensuring that she was steady while also trying not to place her hands anywhere that could be interpreted like she was trying to feel her up or anything like the creep-weasel had done.

"You've got nothing to apologize for," Korra said softly.

The woman stood there, her hands moving to ball the fabric of Korra's tank top in her hands again, her nails lightly running against her person. She took in several steadying breaths, but she felt like she was leaning away and to the right.

Korra moved her hands so that her arms were around her waist and held her upright, coincidentally pulling her closer. She might have imagined it, but she felt the woman relax into her and more of her body weight went into her as their bodies became flush.

"Sure I do," the woman said, her words sounding more slurred. "I'm sure you had other plans for your evening."

Korra shrugged gently. "Well, don't worry about it, okay? I'm just glad I'm here to help however I can." She moved her hand, rubbing the woman's back to try and reassure her.

It wasn't that she was lying – she wanted to help. Not because the woman was attractive, smelled inviting, and was an amazing kisser; she wanted to help because she'd seen how uncomfortable she'd been. She agreed that something wasn't right. She had no clue how much alcohol the woman had consumed today, but something was a bit off, and she didn't think the woman was drunk. She'd tasted a slight hint of something on her tongue when they'd kissed, but not any amount that suggested she'd been drinking for hours or pounding back shot after shot. And she'd seemed, well, sober when she'd first come up. How had she gone from poised to plastered in mere minutes?

"Let's get you to the bathroom, hmm?" Korra offered.

The woman nodded into Korra's shoulder, the movement causing her hair to cascade forward exposing her neck and sending a waft of her perfume directly towards Korra's nose. She swallowed hard and tried not to let her body rise to the enticing scent. There were far more pressing matters to focus on than all the wonderful things this stranger did to Korra's faculties.

They moved, Korra putting one arm firmly around the woman's thin waist and guiding the woman's arm up around her shoulders, keeping a hand gently on her wrist after quickly moving her hoodie the rest of the way down. The woman placed her free hand on top of Korra's hand that was holding her at the waist, and they began walking to the restroom.

It was an interesting time of night at the bar. It early enough that the typical waiting line for the restroom was nowhere to be seen, but late enough to have a steadily filling bar room. They made their way across the bar with relative ease, people sidestepping them as they went. Korra saw a few people smile, like Korra had seen when she used to party out at the bars and people saw someone was drunk too early in the night. A few men looked the slender woman up and down and then made contact with Korra and immediately looked away. The smarter option. She was glad, as she didn't think she'd have the patience to wait for the bouncer again if a guy tried to start something over the beautiful woman in her arms.

They passed a girl as they entered the bathroom who looked at them with a judgmental expression and gave them a wide berth to the bathroom door. Korra was surprised to find the women's restroom completely empty but was glad for small favors. She was sure that the woman in her arms didn't want an audience.

They got in front of a stall and Korra paused.

"Uh, do you want me to go in and… uh, hold your hair?"

The woman shook her head as she slowly started to withdraw her arms from Korra, making an unsteady grab for the bathroom stall door.

"No, no. I'll manage. Thank you for getting me this far."

Korra frowned but didn't hang on and let the woman go. To her credit, she only stumbled slightly, even in the impressively tall, pencil-thin heels that she was wearing, but quickly rebalanced herself on the door that Korra held firmly in place.

"I'll hang out by the sinks, just in case. Okay?"

The woman tucked a large section of her voluminous hair behind her ear. "I appreciate it," she said slowly and then started to close the stall door behind her.

The stall door closed and Korra could hear the woman's hand slap against the divider wall of the stall as she made her way further in.

Korra couldn't help but frown as she started to hear the woman dry heave a minute or so later, the sound echoing outside of the stall and radiated in the tiled restroom.

She waited for what felt like forever. Well, not literally forever. But a handful of women came and went from the restroom, all making scrunched faces of distaste when they'd hear the heaves coming from the stall and then look awkwardly at Korra, who had resided to leaning against the sink with her hands buried deep in her pockets to keep her from fidgeting. A few asked if she was waiting to use the restroom and she'd shake her head and say she was waiting on a friend. Almost on cue every time, the beautiful tall stranger would heave unproductively into the toilet, causing the newcomers to flinch.

It was probably ten or fifteen minutes later, several minutes after the woman's last unproductive bout of trying to expel whatever was in her stomach, when Korra heard a different noise come from the stall. It sounded like the woman's heels scraping against the floor, a hand banging against the side of the divider, and a solid thud of something else against the floor.

Korra swallowed, quickly pushing off from the sink and gently rapped her knuckles on the stall door.

"Everything alright?"

She didn't get a response. Putting her ear just in front of the door, she listened intently, trying to listen to the subtle sounds within over the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ears. She could hear the girl saying something, her voice quiet but steadily rising in pitch, but Korra couldn't make out what she was saying.

She tapped her knuckles again on the stall door. "Hey, are you okay in there?" she asked a little louder.

"I," the woman said, her voice incredibly shaky. "I can't stand."

"I'm going to come in, okay?"

"Okay," the woman said, her voice breaking as what sounded like a sob broke in her throat.

Korra took a step back, looking over the door to see how she could open it. Her instincts told her to simply kick the door in, but the hinges opened outward, not inward, making kicking it in unviable. She looked to see what kind of lock the door had but it was all internal, nothing outside that could be manipulated or turned. Looking down, she abandoned the idea of sliding underneath the stall door, as it was barely six inches off of the ground. She looked up and saw that there were a few feet between the top of the dividers and the ceiling.

Up and over it was going to be.

She backed up to the entrance of the restroom and then went at a running start towards the wall. Parkour wasn't a talent she really had but her coach had made her do several sessions with a local parkour troupe because "it was a good training tool for learning when to proceed because you're sure of your abilities and footing, and when to stop because it's too dangerous," or something along those lines. She jumped at the wall and immediately used one foot to push her further up and towards the stall dividers.

She landed higher than she thought she would, her hip bones hitting the top of the metal divider painfully as her hands scrambled for something to hold onto. Here she could see that the woman had stumbled into the wall and was holding onto a bar that was bolted to the wall as she was seated on the ground, her legs folded underneath her. The muscles in her forearms were engaged as if she was trying to pull herself up, but no progress was being made. Her breathing was frantic like she couldn't quite catch her breath. She looked up to see Korra bent over the top of the stall and tears fell from both eyes, her bottom lip quivering.

"I can't stand," she sobbed.

"I'm coming!" Korra assured her.

She threw her weight to her front and made an uncoordinated summersault over the stall divider and landed ungracefully, her hands going out in fast circles to keep herself from toppling over to the left as she landed on one foot.

As soon as she was balanced, she pivoted towards the woman and put her hands on her shoulders. "I'm here," she cooed, rubbing the woman's arms slightly as her frantic breathing was starting to increase and sounded extremely panicked.

"Please don't let go of me," the woman begged. She moved her hands from the bar on the wall and made a grab for Korra, but for some reason, she was unable to reach her.

"I've got you," Korra responded, moving a little closer.

The woman tried to touch her again and was able to grasp her hoodie. Korra could feel the woman trembling through the fabric as the woman balled the fabric in her hand, trying to pull her closer. Korra frowned sadly and scooted forward, reflexively moving some of the woman's hair out of her face.

"I don't want to sound like an asshole," Korra started hesitantly, placing a steadying hand back on the woman's arm. "But, does alcohol normally affect you like this?"

The woman shook her head, bringing her other hand up to try and hold onto Korra but the hand missed. Korra's frown deepened, and she moved to gently grab her wrist and helped her move so she could hold onto the front of her hoodie.

"No, I had one drink," the woman said frantically, her voice rising in pitch as her hands desperately held on to Korra's front. "I can hold my liquor." She started shaking her head, her voice continuing to rise. "I drink more than that all of the time and am fine!"

Korra knelt further down, searching the woman's face. Her eyes were moving to look all over the place like she was thinking a million things all at once.

"He couldn't' have… I never took my eyes off of my drink."

Korra narrowed her eyes. "He couldn't have what?"

The woman was quiet as her chest heaved up and down at an increasing rate, her eyes darting around the bathroom stall in a panic.

Korra got as close as she could, kneeling on her left knee just in front of the woman's folded legs while her right leg was out at a ninety-degree angle, her foot placed just to the outside of her butt. This put her face mere inches away from the panicking woman's face, but she was worried that she was about to hyperventilate and wanted to calm her down.

She moved one of her hands up from the outside of the woman's arms, firmly across her shoulder until her hand cupped the side the woman's neck, her thumb caressing the mound of muscle at the hinge of the woman's jaw. She reminded herself to keep a loose and gentle grip. She wanted to place her other hand on the woman's sternum to try and calm her breathing, but she was still very much a stranger, and that sort of physical touch seemed far too intimate. Her hand stayed on the outside of the woman's arm.

"He couldn't have what?" Korra repeated softly.

The woman's green eyes stopped looking around and met Korra's. Tears were still streaming down her face

"I think he… he slipped something in my drink."

Korra felt anger flash across her face, her jaw muscles tightening. "He drugged you?! That fucking wea—I'm going to go—"

Any movement that she was about to make was stopped as the woman held tighter to Korra's hoodie, her voice breaking further as she weakly pulled her back and placed her head on Korra's shoulder.

"Please don't leave," she begged. "Please don't let go of me."

Korra swallowed hard. The vengeful energy in her muscles still pulsed, commanding her to dash from the bathroom, find the weasel-slug outside, and beat him within an inch of his life. To hell with her sponsorship!

"Please don't let me go," the woman pleaded, her voice broken and small. "I know we're practically strangers, but—"

"I'll stay," Korra said gently, forcing herself to breathe out of her nose and calm herself down.

She moved forward, moving her hands to wrap around the woman and hold her in a tight hug. She felt the slender woman shake in her embrace and could hear her sob into her shoulder, her hands moving from clutching the front of Korra's clothes to her sides, trying to get closer. Korra moved her thumbs in small circles on the woman's back as she tried to comfort her.

 _Spirits this is a nightmare,_ Korra thought angrily as the woman continued to weep into her, her hands shaking in their hold on her clothing.  _How could someone do something like this to another human? How can someone be so desperate to get laid that they'd drug an unsuspecting person?_

She pulled her tighter, putting one of her hands on the back of the woman's head and simply held her. She was livid. But right now her anger was inconsequential. The woman in her arms narrowly escaped something that could have been devastating.

Over the last few years, stories of women saying they'd been raped and no one believing them because they'd been out drinking, stumbling drunk, and laughing with the person who they'd said sexually assaulted them had been on the rise. Some of those women left town to escape threats from people saying their sexual assaulter wasn't capable of such malicious acts. Some women tried to fight the system or make their way into local politics to affect change at the political infrastructure but hadn't won in their elections. And, just a few months ago, a woman had committed suicide and speculation from the media linked the suicide to a rape case she'd fought and lost against a prominent man in town.

It was a rising problem in the area, but no one took it seriously. Not law enforcement. Not the politicians. And not a lot of citizens, either. They always stuck to victim blaming, saying the woman shouldn't have worn what she wore or drank where she'd drunk or flirted without the intention of anything further than casual conversation.

Korra had never experienced it, probably due to her well-known reputation throughout town that she wasn't afraid of a fight. But she'd never seen it occur in her group of friends or anyone she'd known. She was always disgusted with those who put the blame back on the victims but never did anything to help them.

Here, holding this woman, she felt guilty for not speaking up or protesting with the women on the capital the month previous. For not getting involved in the election that occurred six months ago to try and help get some of those women elected into local offices. She'd put her head down and stuck to her training, focusing on her and her alone.

Minutes passed, and Korra could hear people come and go from the bathroom, but no one knocked on their stall door, which was a relief. She was a little upset that no one even asked if everything was okay, given that the woman in her arms was crying. She wasn't wailing or anything, but she knew that the woman's crying wasn't inaudible.

"T-thank you," the woman said. Her voice sounded cracked, raw, and slurred. "Thank you for stepping in when you did, too."

"Of course," Korra said softly, leaning her head against the top of the woman's soft black hair. "I'm just sorry I didn't step in sooner."

"You couldn't have possibly known what he was doing. I'm just thankful you stepped in at all." The woman sniffed as her breathing started to settle down. Korra could feel the tension in the woman's body start to ease, almost as if she was relaxing into her.

"Me too," Korra said. She chewed on her lip and then leaned back slightly, catching the woman's eyes. "Is there someone you want me to call? A friend?"

The woman shook her head. "I don't know anyone here except business associates."

"No one?"

"I'm from Republic City," the woman said with a sad half smile. "I came into town for work yesterday."

"Do you want me to call the police?" Korra offered. "That guy should be reported!"

The woman shook her head again, and then stopped abruptly and closed her eyes, clutching tight to Korra; her grip adjusted against the material of her hoodie as she grabbed more fabric. Korra could feel her tank top move and the fabric bunched in her hands.

"No. I just… please. I know we're strangers and you probably have a million other things you'd rather be doing," she paused. The woman's words were slow and over-annunciated like she'd heard her slurring before and was consciously trying not to anymore. She opened her eyes, squinting up at Korra. "Please keep holding me? I'm so dizzy that I can't see straight."

"I'll hold on as long as you need," Korra said, nodding and rubbing the woman's back with her hands. "I'm Korra, by the way. We can't be strangers if we know each other's name, right?"

The woman gave a small laugh, taking in an unsteady breath. "Asami."


	3. Safe in Your Arms

“Thank you,” the woman said softly.

“Don’t mention it,” Korra said automatically.

Korra still wanted to find the weasel-slug and say to hell with her MMA sponsorship and take out her anger on him with every limb she had. She did her best to keep her temper in check and instead tried to focus on making sure Asami was okay.

The taller woman clung to Korra’s arm as they sat next to each other in the cab. Her tears were gone, and her makeup was somehow immaculately intact despite the amount of crying she’d done in the bathroom. To any onlooker, she probably just looked a little unstable from an early night of drinking holding onto her date. But Korra could see that she was chewing on the inside of her lip and that her mind was busy thinking, as her eyes didn’t stop moving, looking slightly this way and that.

She had the urge to hold the woman’s hand to try and give her something else to focus on but refrained. They were, after all, strangers despite how close they were sitting and how much contact Asami seemed to want from Korra. There were flashes of moments when Korra forgot she wasn’t the woman’s date, too.

Korra was surprised at how quickly the cab had come, given it was a Friday night. She didn’t complain, though, but was rather grateful. They’d spent a little more time in the restroom before Asami had asked if Korra would help her get back to her hotel. Korra had made the call to the taxi company and then helped Asami up and out of the bathroom, holding her tight as they had walked through the more crowded bar. They had walked out to the curb to wait for the cab with the idea that Korra would get Asami in the cab and let her be on her way for the evening, but the taller woman’s legs were effectively jelly; during their short walk from the restroom to the sidewalk Asami’s legs had almost given out several times and Korra had practically carried her once they’d gotten outside.

Korra had asked if the woman wanted her to tag along to the hotel to help her get to her room as they had stood on the curb, noticing Asami’s balance was only getting worse. Asami had instantly responded with a _yes please_ and then went on to tell Korra that she felt safe and secure in her arms, causing Korra to blush as the cab pulled up to the curb. And now, they sat flush next to each other, Asami in the middle seat, as they drove through the downtown area. The taller woman’s fingers kept caressing the inside of Korra’s bicep as she held onto her.

“I mean it, though,” Asami said, turning her green eyes up to meet Korra’s. “You… had you not stepped in when you did… who knows—”

“Hey,” Korra said softly, turning slightly in her seat and bringing a hand up to the woman’s face. Her forefinger caught a single tear as it started to roll down her cheek. “Don’t torture yourself by thinking what might have happened tonight. I really hope the bouncer threw that cockroach-worm into a dumpster. But he didn’t get you. You’re safe.” Korra gave her a sad half-smile without showing any teeth.

Asami pulled her bottom lip through her teeth and then rested her head on Korra’s shoulder, holding Korra’s arm a little tighter to her chest.

“You feel safe.”

“Thanks,” Korra said as a warmth blossom in her cheeks. “I know we’re strangers. And if I were in your shoes… I feel like tonight would make me never want to trust a stranger again. But… I’m glad I was here to help.”

“Me too.” The woman nuzzled into Korra’s shoulder more, her nose brushing against Korra’s neck as the smallest of giggles escaped her throat. “Although, I get the feeling that watching you try to walk in six-inch stilettos would be quite comical.”

“I mean, you’re probably not wrong.” Korra grinned, happy that humor was asserting itself. “But I’m awfully stubborn. By the end of the night, I’d have it down.”

“You think so?”

Korra nodded, a chuckle radiating from her throat as she nodded with false confidence. “Oh for sure, without a doubt. I don’t think I could pull off the pencil skirt – my legs would probably tear the seams right out. But I’d figure out the heels.”

She heard the woman smile as she exhaled and leaned still closer to Korra, her side completely flushed against her now. “I’d love to see that.”

“What? The mastering heels or the tearing the seams out of a skirt?”

She laughed, and Korra felt the tension immediately release from her neck and shoulders. The woman’s laugh was infectious and captivating.

“Both,” she said simply after her laughter subsided.

She couldn’t help herself anymore. The woman was so comfortable next to her. She brought her free hand up and placed it over top one of Asami’s. The woman immediately moved her fingers, pulling Korra’s fingers to interlock with her own.

Korra didn’t know if it was the drug in her system that made her okay with how they were touching or if it was, as she had said, that Korra felt safe. She was hoping it was the latter. She liked the way the woman felt next to her. She didn’t feel clammy anymore. Her warmth had returned, and she radiated an inviting heat into Korra’s side and hand.

“Here we are,” the cab driver said as the cab lurched to a halt.

Asami nodded and moved, retracting her hands from Korra’s arms and lethargically grabbed her purse and pulled out her clutch. She pulled out a bill and handed it to Korra. Korra took the bill to give to the cabbie.

“Keep the change,” Asami said sweetly.

“Oh,” Korra paused before handing the bill over, lowering her voice to a whisper. “The fare is only thirty-five. You handed me a hundred.”

“It’s fine.”

Korra raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure!?” she hissed.

Asami nodded. “It’s a Friday night. Drunks are lousy tippers and awful passengers. He deserves a good tip.”

Korra felt her eyes go wide. She wanted to say that that was far more than a generous tip. But despite sounding intoxicated, she hadn’t shown any signs of losing her mental faculties so far this evening. Korra finally shrugged and handed the bill over to the cabbie.

“Wow, thank you so much! Here, let me get the door,” the cab driver said as he practically jettisoned himself out of the cab and jogged around the car.

Korra smiled. “Wow, you sure made his night.”

Asami smiled and slid her hand back into Korra’s. “I have a lot of paying it forward to do after all your help tonight.”

Korra squeezed her hand in return, unsure of how to respond. She wanted to say that she didn’t, that Korra wasn’t helping her for repayment or to make her feel like she had to be extra generous to satisfy the karmic stratosphere. Korra just saw that she needed help and helped. She hadn’t imagined it going this far when she’d put the marker to the napkin almost two hours ago, now, but she was just glad to help and keep her safe.

A small part in her brain chimed in that it was because she was attracted to the woman, but she quickly put that thought in a box and shoved it away. No matter how attractive she was, how good she felt in her hands, or how heavenly her lips had been, tonight was not the night to try and test any of that further. And she hadn’t decided to help Asami when she’d initially seen her across the bar because of her allure; she’d gone because she’d seen her look of discomfort.

The cab door opened and Korra got out with ease, leaving her hand in Asami’s. The taller woman was still moving slowly, and her limbs seemed uncertain. Korra was sure that her legs hadn’t recovered any, so it was a good thing that the cab driver was managing the door. It was one less thing to worry about as she moved slightly back and took Asami’s other hand and pulled her to her feet.

Asami stumbled forward, going completely flush against Korra’s front. Korra was ready and braced with her legs so that she wasn’t jostled too much. They thanked the cab driver again, who turned the thank you right back, even bowing slightly as he brought his hands together.

Returning her arm around the slender woman’s waist and holding Asami’s other arm over her shoulders, Korra finally turned to look at the hotel and had to stop herself from opening her mouth from shock. They were in front of The Spirit Grand, the most luxurious hotel in the city. Arguably the most luxurious hotel in the entire southern hemisphere, or so she’d heard.

“T-this is your hotel?” Korra blurted before she could stop herself.

“Mhm,” the Asami managed from her side as she steadied herself by placing a hand on Korra’s stomach. “I’m on the top floor.”

She blinked hard and felt her eyes go wide as her gaze scaled up the side of the impressive building. Korra had never actually been inside of the hotel, but it was common knowledge that the top floor usually held the penthouse suites and were the most expensive rooms.

She was in one of the most expensive rooms, in one of the fanciest hotels in the region, _and_ she’d handed the cabbie a one hundred dollar bill, utterly unfazed that she was tipping the man sixty-five dollars on a thirty-five dollar fare.

Who **_was_** this woman?

And why had she been drinking at Benders? There were plenty of upscale bars in town, especially ones closer to this hotel. Hell, the bar inside of the hotel was guaranteed to serve better drinks, have a better atmosphere and actual live entertainment. Benders was known for its cheap drink Thursdays and sticky dance floor. The joke among her friends was that _you always started at Benders, but never ended the night there_.

“You okay?” Asami asked, her words lethargically slurring together.

Korra blinked several times and then refocused on the door to the hotel. “Yeah – yeah, I’m good. Let’s get you inside and to bed.”

Just as the automatic doors opened, a bellhop came rushing to the door.

“Ms. Sato! I’m so sorry that no one was manning the door.”

Asami waved a polite hand to the young man. “You’re quite alright.”

The young man bowed and gave them space to finish walking through the door uninterrupted.

Korra’s attention was split – the entrance to the hotel was something straight out of a movie. There was an impossibly tall ceiling with a chandelier, the crystals casting glittering pigments of light all across the golden colored walls. A massive staircase on either side of the entrance joined on the second floor at a curve, reminding Korra of the period piece movies and women with long trains on their dresses being put perfectly on display as they descended the staircase.

Korra felt horribly out of place. Everything was immaculately clean and shiny. Asami’s attire fit the hotel – her silky blouse, tight pencil skirt, and impressively tall heels that echoed throughout the open space as they walked – right down to her modest jewelry, red teardrop earrings that looked similar to the crystals in the chandelier above and a necklace to match with a red pendant on a dainty gold chain. Even her immaculately painted and cared for nails, and luscious hair that was slightly disheveled still hung beautifully past her shoulders fit the hotel’s grandeur.

Korra felt like a street urchin in comparison – her hoodie and jean joggers with the knees ripped out and frayed bottoms of her pants that dragged on the ground behind her high-top sneakers. Her hands looked filthy next to Asami’s, her hangnails had been chewed on, and small scabs from hangnails were on several of her fingertips, the rough skin around her knuckles where she hit the punching bag at the gym most, and probably a bruise or two from practice. Not to mention her haphazardly thrown up ponytail for hair that was barely long enough to be pulled back in the first place.

Korra’s attention was pulled back to the woman in her arms when she stumbled slightly, her free hand grabbing at the front of Korra’s hoodie again. Her desperate grab hadn’t been placed correctly, causing her to grab at the center of Korra’s chest.

“Shit, sorry,” Korra mumbled as she tightened her grip around Asami’s waist, trying to correct her stance and held more firmly to the wrist of the arm draped around her shoulders. She forced herself to stop gawking about the place and focused on walking with the encumbered woman as she ignored the feeling of the woman’s manicured hand against her chest.

If she was careful, Asami would never feel how fast her heart was beating.

“No, no, I’m sorry,” Asami said, concentrating on her words again to avoid sounding too intoxicated. “It’s my damn heels.”

“Ah, Ms. Sato!” Korra looked up to see a middle-aged woman behind the front desk looking very surprised and prepared to move around the desk at a moment’s notice. “Do you need assistance?

“Oh, no thank you, Joatan,” Asami said with a smile. Korra’s breath caught. Her bright white smile was infectious, and her eyes lit up as her mouth moved. Or maybe it was the lighting in the lavish entrance. Whatever it was, she was immediately reminded how gorgeous the woman in her arms was.

“Just a little too much to drink tonight,” Asami added. Try as she was, some of her words still slurred together. She then patted Korra’s chest. “But my friend is doing a fabulous job of helping me to my room.”

Korra swallowed hard, ignoring the feeling of the woman’s hand on the top of her breast. Sure, there were two layers of clothing and her sports bra, but the woman was still touching her someplace that not just anyone was allowed to touch. And it felt good, despite the layers of cloth. Her body recalled the slight feeling of the woman’s nails on her neck and back earlier. Her body wanted more contact with the woman, but her brain tried to remind the rest of her how inappropriate that would be, given all that had happened tonight. It didn’t stop the ache her body felt but quieted it slightly.

As she tried to ignore the palpitation of excitement that coursed through her body, she also tried to ignore her disappointment with Asami having to lie about having had too many drinks. She understood that saying _oh I was drugged at a local bar but am in good hands now_ would open the door wide open for an uncomfortable conversation. But it was unfair that she had to lie about her demeanor because some guy slipped something in her drink with ill intentions.

She tried not to frown but rather forced a smile at the worried looking front desk woman.

“Of course, ma’am. If you need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call the front desk, Ms. Sato.”

“You’re a dear, thank you,” Asami said, giving another polite wave.

Korra looked between Asami and the front desk person as another thought crossed her mind: how often did she come here to have the hotel staff know her surname or for her to know their names? The staff was probably just trained at providing that level of high-end customer service, but that didn’t explain why Asami knew the front desk woman’s name.

And there was something in the back of her mind that clung to the woman’s surname. Sato. Where had she heard that before? It sounded too familiar.

She felt Asami lean into her neck and then whispered, “Elevators are to the right.”

“Right! I mean,” Korra fumbled, feeling her cheeks grow hot. “Gotcha. Elevators.” She gave another forced and awkward smile to the front desk woman and started walking again.

The elevator was empty when it opened. _Small favors_ , Korra thought as she doubted the woman wanted to be seen by more people than absolutely necessary in her current state. Asami’s hand sluggishly reached for the key panel and selected the top floor, floor forty-seven.

 _Spirits, this is going to be a long ride up,_ Korra thought as the doors closed, and the elevator started to ascend.

“Shit,” she heard Asami whispered after they passed the fifth floor.

It was enough warning for Korra to catch the taller woman’s full body weight as she turned into her and fell flush against her, clutching at the fabric on either of Korra’s arms. Korra was rooted in place, and her hands moved to hold her at the waist.

“I’ve got you,” Korra softly assured her.

“Thank you,” Asami said on a shaky exhale.

Korra could feel Asami’s muscles tremble underneath her hands.

“You can put your entire weight into me.”

“Are you sure?”

Korra chuckled and then moved her arms around the woman and made a point to flex as she held her closer. “I’m positive.”

Asami made a satisfied noise and then moved her arms up to drape over Korra’s shoulders. Korra took them a step backward to brace her back against the elevator wall and then the woman put what felt like her full weight against Korra as she leaned further into her, her arms moving to wrap behind Korra’s neck. The position put Asami impossibly close, and her hair shifted, wafting her alluring perfume directly into Korra’s nose.

Korra couldn’t catch the satisfied sigh, almost whimper, that escaped her throat. She hardly realized she made any noise at all until she was done making it. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks started to burn again when she realized that that noise, that incredibly sexual sounding noise, had come from her and that the woman in her arms had probably heard it.

“Do you need me to move?” Asami asked, trying to move back but her muscles didn’t allow her much progress. But what little movement she gained made her hair move again, another waft of her scent crashing against Korra’s nose.

“N-no!” Korra stammered. Her voice cracked, like something was stuck in her throat, and she felt her cheeks grow hotter. “No, you’re perfectly fine.”

Asami moved her head, looking sideways at Korra’s face, and then smirked. “Then what was that noise for?” she asked, her tone quiet and low as her bright green eyes looked over Korra’s expression.

“U-uh.” Korra wished the lighting in the elevator was dimmer. There was no way she wouldn’t see the blush that she knew was growing across her cheeks. And knowing that she could see it made Korra blush deeper.

“You… erm,” Korra stammered. “Your perfume smells really good is all,” she finally managed to get out.

The woman in her arms laughed softly and then relaxed back against Korra. Her breasts compressing against Korra’s as her chest moved with her breath.

“Is that all?” Asami asked as she resituated her face positioning. It almost felt like she was nuzzling into Korra’s neck.

“W-what?” Korra stuttered. She wasn’t sure if the woman was teasing her or making a genuine inquiry. But her tone sounded highly suggestive like it had before despite there not being an audience for her to convince.

A bell chimed in the large elevator, and the elevator slowed to a stop. Glancing up, Korra saw they’d arrived at the top floor. She was glad that they hadn’t been stopped by other hotel patrons and that the elevator ride was quick. She had a feeling that if she were stuck in a confined space like this for too much longer something might happen between them and Korra didn’t want to cross any lines. Not tonight, at any rate.

“C’mon,” Korra started as she began straightening her posture, standing away from the elevator wall and choosing to ignore answering Asami’s follow-up question. “Let’s get you to bed, hmm?”

She felt the woman nod into her, but she didn’t move. Korra thought she was waiting for the elevator, but when the door opened, the woman remained against her. Korra could feel the taller woman’s muscles flexing and un-flexing and felt her hip shift against her but didn’t actually move. She heard Asami take in several frustrated breaths, each sounding slightly higher.

“You okay?”

“My legs won’t move,” she said, panic edging her voice.

Korra tightened her arms around the woman trying to make sure she didn’t panic. “Is it okay if I pick you up?”

“Oh gosh.” Asami leaned back, her hands cupping the back of Korra’s neck, locking her gaze with Korra’s. “I don’t want you to strain yourself. I’m sure the hotel has—”

“I won’t stain myself one bit, I promise,” Korra interrupted with a wide grin. She didn’t want the beautiful woman to worry or think they needed to get the hotel staff. The woman was small, and Korra estimated that she benched at least twice the taller woman’s weight, but didn’t want to risk admitting it aloud because she didn’t want to sound braggy. “I just wanted to ask to make sure I wouldn’t make you uncomfortable if I lifted you.”

Asami’s expression shifted – her eyes softened, and her hands loosened on the back of Korra’s neck, her fingers lightly caressing her warm skin. A smile broke on her lips without showing teeth, and Korra swore she could see a rosy hue on the woman’s cheeks that wasn’t a part of her makeup.

“I doubt you could ever make me uncomfortable, Korra,” she said softly, her bright green eyes holding Korra’s gaze.

Korra’s mouth fell open, and she knew that the blush on her cheeks was deepening. It was such an intimate thing to say to someone who she’d only known for a few hours. But Korra, despite the short time they’d spent together, felt similar. Sure, there were things that she wouldn’t do tonight because of the drug in Asami’s system, and she would never let herself take advantage of a person who didn’t have their full faculties about them. She wasn’t sure if Asami was saying this because she genuinely felt it or if it was some side effect of whatever drug she had been slipped, though. She admittedly knew nothing about drugs or what all they did to a person.

A warning beep sounded from the doors, drawing Korra’s mind back to the elevator and tore her eyes away from Asami’s – eyes that she could definitely get lost in. She then smiled, gave a curt nod and then moved to pick Asami up. She didn’t want to hold the elevator up or have the hotel staff think there was something wrong. In a quick motion Korra did a semi-squat and moved one arm on Asami’s upper back and then swept her other arm under the tall woman’s knees, scooping her up in a bridal carry as she stood up out of the ill-formed squat that would have warranted a yell from her coach had she been in the gym.

Asami made a surprised sound, but smiled and then adjusted her arms to still sling around Korra’s neck. The woman was actually lighter than she’d thought she’d be and she stepped off the elevator without issue.

“Room 47B,” Asami said simply.

Korra looked up to the small room directory across from the elevator. There were only four rooms on this floor. 47B was to the left of the elevators, and Korra turned and started walking in that direction.

The same extravagance from the hotel entryway was mirrored in the tall hallway. The hallway ceiling was arched, gold filigree lined the crown molding, and fresh, fragrant flowers were in marbled vases in small recessed shelves in the walls.

Korra saw gold embossed numbering of 47B on the door at the end of the hallway. As they got closer to it, Asami adjusted her hands from Korra’s neck and went to grab her purse which was wedged between their bodies. She stopped in front of the door and gently put the slender woman down, ensuring she kept the woman steady by standing behind her and keeping her hands on the taller woman’s waist as Asami continued looking through her purse.

After a few moments, the dark-haired woman was successful in her search and pulled out a keycard and put it into the door mechanism. She started having problems coordinating her hands to input the card and open the handle and was unable to open the door on her own. Korra took pity on her and wrapped her left arm around Asami’s waist, pulling herself completely flushed against her back, and then extended her other hand into a ready position on the door handle. Asami inserted the card again, and together they got the door open.

Korra put her foot out to keep it from closing and then scooped Asami up in her arms again, gaining a quiet giggle from the taller woman. She then carried her into the suite but stopped just a few steps into the space as the door shut quietly behind them.

The hotel suite seemed to take the entire corner of the building and was bigger than any house Korra had ever stepped foot in. Just the space she could see from the doorway was bound to have more square footage than her parents’ entire home. The ceilings were tall and arched, similar to that of the entrance to the hotel. There was an ample kitchen space, a massive dining table with more fresh flowers on display, and a bathroom that looked like something straight out of a spa to their right. As she slowly walked further, she could see that the living space had several luscious couches, an ornate fireplace, and the walls of the far wall were floor to ceiling glass, overlooking the South Sea harbor and bay. She couldn’t quite tell in the dim light of the night, but she could swear that past the glass wall she could see a large patio with some sort of hot tub or endless pool and plants.

Korra swallowed. The place was massive, and she hadn’t even seen it all yet. She stepped down into the living room space, Asami tightly cradled in her arms, and saw a hallway that she assumed led to a bedroom or bedrooms. She paused and looked around the space and then to the woman in her arms.

“Um… where would you like to go?”

“Bed,” Asami said, her head leaning into Korra’s shoulder.

Korra tried to convince herself that Asami had said _bed_ at an average volume, not at a whisper. She further tried to convince herself that the feeling of Asami’s nails playing along the edge of her hairline at the base of her head was her trying to keep her grip and nothing more. All she needed to do was get this enticing woman in bed and situated for the night. The longer she stayed here, the more confused she became by the woman’s actions and her conviction to not start anything waned. She could come and check on her in the morning.

Korra nodded and made her way down the hall. There were three bedrooms. Two of which looked untouched and then a bedroom in the back corner that seemed to be where the woman was sleeping simply because there was luggage in the corner. The room was immaculate – nothing was out of place, the bedding didn’t even have the slightest crease in the blankets. As she walked further into the room, she could tell that there was another bathroom in the room.

She forced herself not to look too bewildered, but the size of the bedroom was at least three times the size of her entire studio apartment, possibly four times as large. It was insanely large, but the décor that filled the room made it feel full and almost homey. If homey came was a six-figure price tag.

“You alright?” Asami whispered, a hand moving to touch Korra’s cheek.

Korra blinked and then looked at the woman in her arms. She looked tired, but she also looked concerned.

“Y-yeah,” she managed. “This is… this is just a really nice place.”

Asami smiled. “It’s a little much, honestly. But it’s close to where I do most of my meetings.”

Korra swallowed and started walking towards the bed. “So, what do you do, anyway?”

Asami pursed her lips. “Do you really want to know?”

Korra shrugged. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. This is all… just… very… pricey looking.”

“I,” Asami started and then chewed on her lip for a moment. She let out a sigh and then caught Korra’s eye. “I’m the CEO and owner of Future Industries.”

Korra felt her eyes go wide. That’s why her surname sounded familiar – her father was obsessed with the news about a potential Sato-Snow-Mobile factory moving into town. She’d grown up riding Sato-Snow-Machines with her dad.

“You mean the place that makes snowmobiles?!”

Asami gave a small smile. “Among other things, yes.”

Korra made it to the bed and placed Asami down gently before standing upright again. “That’s amazing! I had no idea Future Industries was run b—” she stopped herself. She had been about to say _a beautiful woman_ but didn’t want to sound like someone who only cared about her looks or someone who didn’t think women could be the heads of powerful companies. “By someone so young,” she corrected herself.

Asami smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes, causing Korra to frown. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything about her age, either.

“I’m sorry.”

Asami blinked. “For what?”

“By the look on your face, it doesn’t seem like you liked what I said.”

Asami looked at Korra for a long moment, holding her gaze. She then closed her eyes and smiled, truly smiled, and reached a hand out and took hold of the hem of Korra’s hoodie.

“I’m surprised you noticed,” she said, her thumbnail running over the ridges of the bottom of the hoodie. “Normally my poker face is pretty impenetrable.”

Korra shrugged and then sat down on the bed next to Asami. Close enough so that if the woman still wanted to touch her, she could, but not right flush next to her.

“Reading body language is kind of important for what I do.”

Asami raised a curious eyebrow. “And what is it that you do?”

“I do competitive mixed martial arts.”

“Oh?” Asami sounded. She then moved her arms around Korra’s right arm and then leaned against her, closing the small distance between them and placing her head on Korra’s shoulder again. “Have any of your fights been televised?”

Korra gave a small laugh. “Nah, I’m a rookie. The season starts next month, though, and my coach is trying really hard to get me a televised match.” Korra opened her hand, and Asami moved her hand slowly, placing hers into it. Korra then looked sideways at her. “But, what was it about what I said that you didn’t like?”

Asami squeezed her hand. “It’s not what you said, exactly,” Asami said, relaxing further against Korra. “I just hear it a lot. Or that they can’t believe I’m a woman. Or that I’m just some girl who got everything handed to her by her father. Or that I can’t possibly be the brain behind the operation, just the attractive distracting body touting someone else’s business ideas.”

The more she spoke, the more tired she sounded.

“Well, you **_are_** a beautiful woman,” Korra offered as she tried to catch Asami’s eyes with her own, caressing her hand with her thumb. “And, obviously I don’t know you very well. Like, at all. But I get the feeling that you’re quite capable.”

“Thank you,” Asami said in a quiet voice. She finally met Korra’s eyes, a smile still pulling at the edge of her mouth. “I think the same about you.”

“What, that I’m capable?”

“That you’re beautiful.”

Korra felt her mouth open slightly as she felt a blush grow hot on her cheeks. Asami was leaning against her, looking up at her with her vibrant green eyes. How could this gorgeous woman, this well-manicured, elegantly dressed goddess think that she was attractive? Korra still felt horridly out of place with the tears in her pants and unkempt nails.

“Ha,” she laughed nervously. “You’re just saying that because I’m strong,” she deflected.

Asami shrugged. “I mean, that’s definitely a bonus that you can pick me up the way you can.” She winked before putting her head back onto Korra’s shoulder and nuzzling against her neck.

Korra felt her cheeks grow hotter as Asami’s tired tone had turned incredibly suggestive. Again.

Korra wanted to stay and talk with the woman. She was so comfortable to be around and here, alone in the bedroom without the distractions of a busy bar or a cab driver’s watchful eye, Korra could focus wholly on how the woman felt against her. She was warm, her skin dancing where their skin touched. The woman’s perfume made her want to bury her nose in Asami’s hair and fall back in bed with her.

She needed to leave. She knew that the relaxed state of the woman next to her wasn’t organic but the result of a drug in her system. It wasn’t right for her to want to get closer to the woman when she wasn’t in full control of her body yet.

“Well,” Korra started, squeezing Asami’s hand. “I should probably go. Will you be okay for the rest of the night?”

Asami was quiet for a long moment. “Did I say something wrong?” she asked as she returned the squeeze to Korra’s hand and held her arm tighter with her other.

“What? No!” Korra blurted, trying to reassure her. “You’re just looking tired, and I don’t want to prevent you from getting sleep. Especially after the night you’ve had.”

Asami was quiet for another long moment, her hold on Korra’s arm and hand not lessening. The hand that was holding around her bicep caressed the fabric of her hoodie, her thumb rotating in small methodical circles.

“Would it be terrible of me to ask you to stay?” Asami asked quietly.

Korra moved her head to look at Asami’s face, but couldn’t see it. Her face was buried in the crook of her neck, and she held tightly to her.

“Y-you… you want me to stay?” Korra asked, her mouth suddenly dry.

Asami nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, and you have every right to say no and leave, and I would understand completely. I just,” the woman paused, her voice growing tight. She sat up slightly, taking her head off of Korra’s shoulder and Korra could see that she was fighting back tears. “With everything that’s happened tonight, I’m just scared.” She pulled her lower lip through her teeth to get it to stop quivering and took a deep breath. “I know we’re just two people who met, but… your arms feel safe and reassuring. When you’re near, I can focus on how good you smell and not the thoughts of what-ifs that could have happened tonight.”

Korra smiled, bringing a hand up to catch a tear that had fallen and wiped it away.

“You think I smell good?”

Asami laughed gently. “I very much do.”

“Well, how can I say no to that, hmm?” Korra grinned as she let her hand fall away from Asami’s face.

Asami smiled and tucked a section of hair behind her ear. “You can say no, Korra. I’d… I’d completely understand.”

Korra looked at Asami for a long moment. Sure, she was attracted to the woman. She definitely liked hearing her own name fall from her lips. But she knew she wouldn’t allow herself to do anything other than simply be there in the capacity that Asami wanted her to be, and the woman was steadily looking more and more tired. She was sure that Asami would be asleep soon and she might actually get a good night’s sleep herself; the hotel suite was far quieter than her cheap studio apartment that she literally heard everything her neighbors from all sides did.

“I appreciate it,” Korra said, smiling softly. “But if I can keep helping, then I’ll happily stay by your side tonight.”

Asami smiled in a way that Korra hadn’t seen on her yet. It was an emotion that seemed to be a mixture of relief and comfort. She then leaned forward, placing her forehead gently against Korra’s as she closed her eyes and then brought a hand up to cup just under Korra’s ear.

“Thank you,” she said softly as her thumb caressed the line of Korra’s jaw.

She was impossibly close. Close enough that if Korra moved forward at all, they’d more than likely kiss. The scent of her perfume permeated off of her hair and made Korra want to get closer, to close the distance, to feel her lips again and hear Asami’s appreciative sounds as they kissed like she had made earlier in the bar.

Korra swallowed, trying to make sure it wasn’t audible. She wanted to feel the woman’s lips again but told herself it was strictly off limits. For tonight. Maybe she could broach the subject with her tomorrow. There was so much about this woman that she liked that she couldn’t fathom the thought of this being a one-time encounter. Even if it didn’t lead into any sort of physical relationship. She felt so relaxed with this human that she’d be okay with simply making a new friend, despite the ache that her body might constantly have when she was around her. But she could live with that.

“Well,” Korra said abruptly, sitting up straight and putting distance between them. “Let’s get you ready for bed, shall we?” she asked as she started to stand, making a point of looking about the room. “Do you have some pajamas or something you want me to help you into?”

Asami smiled and held onto Korra’s hand loosely. “I don’t own any. I usually don’t wear anything to bed,” she said simply.

Korra felt her cheeks instantly burn and swallowed hard.

_She sleeps naked?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apparently have a thing for sexual tension in elevators? Those of you who read my Cracks in the Foundation Mass Effect fanfiction understand. :p


	4. Morning After

Asami’s head pounded incessantly at the front of her skull. Her eyelids felt heavy. She didn’t want to wake up or get out of bed. She knew she had a meeting in the afternoon but it was still definitely morning – her internal clock rarely let her sleep in past six, even on her days off.

She slowly squinted her eyes open. Once her blurry sleep dissipated from her vision, she saw that the clock on her hotel nightstand read _9:45 AM_.

She blinked and looked at the clock a little harder. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept in this late, but she didn’t have anywhere pressing to be until one o’clock. She had plenty of time to start her day by showering and getting something to eat while she reviewed her notes for her afternoon meeting.

Something didn’t feel right, though. She was in her hotel room. The problem was she didn’t remember _coming back_ to her hotel last night. She had gone out to have a casual drink and remembered meeting someone, someone she had wanted to get away from. But beyond that, her mind felt fuzzy, especially when she tried to recall the details of the person she’d met. After a few moments of thinking, she distinctly recalled the feeling of lips against hers, though.

Her eyes shot fully open as the weight of an arm draped over her stomach registered in her foggy senses.

Asami was lying on her left side and looked back over her shoulder to see another person in her bed sleeping soundly. The comforter covered most of the person’s body, but Asami could see dark hair and dark skin of the person nuzzled down into her back and could feel a warm arm wrapped around her waist and one under her pillow.

Her eyes went wide as she feared she’d slept with the person, but then she noticed something else that was strange – she was wearing a hoodie. A hoodie that definitely didn’t belong to her as she didn’t own any such attire in her entire wardrobe. The last time she’d even worn such a thing she had been in single digits. But she could feel that her legs were bare and felt the distinct feeling of the underwire of her bra pressing against her ribs. She was fully aware that she didn’t have to be naked to have had sex with someone – but she hoped she would have at least remembered the act of doing it. Her mind was nauseatingly blank on the events of the night before.

She laid there for a long moment trying harder to recall the events of the day before: She remembered leaving her meeting and having a simple dinner at the hotel restaurant before deciding to go check out a bar that someone had recommended on one of her previous trips down to the Southern Capital. No matter how hard she tried, though, she couldn’t recall the events after meeting a man at the bar and having a conversation. She remembered a woman, too. Was that who she’d kissed?

_There’s no way I drank_ **that** _much last night,_ she thought drastically as she moved her hand to pull back the comforter. As she grabbed the edge of the fluffy blanket, something on her hand caught her eye.

“Check your texts” was written in black ink on the back of her hand.

She stayed still for a long moment just blinking at the writing scrawled on her hand. It wasn’t her handwriting, but it looked familiar. For some reason, she thought of napkins and secret notes but didn’t understand the correlation.

She glanced back at her sleeping partner who was still out cold next to her. Their body was warm but not flush against her. The person moved slightly, rotating their head to face upward instead of into Asami’s back and Asami’s breath caught. It was a woman.

It had been over a year since she’d been intimate with anyone, and even longer since she’d been intimate with another woman. Her last relationship had been a short-lived flash in the pan with a young rookie cop who couldn’t handle her rigorous work habits. She’d had relations with several women during her college years, but they never turned into full-fledged relationships because the other women were _just having fun_ or so they’d told her.

The woman with dark skin in her bed was gorgeous – not in a classically beautiful way like people often associated with herself; this woman had both hard and soft features about her – her pronounced cheekbones and defined jawline, but soft, thin lips and petite nose. Asami’s eyes lingered on the woman’s thin lips and clearly remembered the taste of peppermint.

The first crystal clear memory from the night before crashed through her foggy brain – this woman had come up to her and Asami had pulled her into a kiss. And not just a simple kiss that she thought appropriate for public displays of affections – no, the kiss had been passionate, thorough, and lasted much longer than she’d typically allow for PDA’s. The kiss had made her knees weak and her head spin. The woman, despite being shorter, had held her in strong arms and returned the kiss with a ferocity that had made Asami’s core ache for something more. And her breathless declaration of _holy fuck_ when the kiss finally ended had made her want to pull the woman away and see what else she could have done to her to get similar responses.

Asami frowned. The memory was so vivid, vivid enough for a dull ache to throb between her legs. Despite the vividness and her body’s physical reaction to the memory, however, she couldn’t recall how she’d met the woman before that kiss or how she’d gotten home. And if the kiss had been that sexually charged, then why hadn’t they had sex? Were they too drunk when they’d gotten back to the hotel? Had one of them withdrawn their consent for sex for the evening and settled for making out? Or had they and Asami just couldn’t remember it? But if that was the case, it didn’t explain why she was wearing a hoodie and little else…

Her body didn’t feel like she’d had sex. Not at all. Usually, her body would feel slightly sore but relaxed the morning after a passionate night in. She still felt the tension in her shoulders from all the stress she’d been carrying around about her business dealings in the Southern Capital. A good romp in the sheets would have lessened that at least a little. Unless the sex had been bad? She frowned again. Based on the kiss she remembered, she doubted that the hypothetical sex with this stranger would have been lackluster or unsatisfying. If they’d had sex – she had a feeling her body would feel sore for a few days. But sore in the best possible way.

She remembered the note on her hand to check her texts and then looked to her nightstand. She was surprised to see that her phone was plugged in and charging, along with a glass of water and a packet of aspirin. Despite her initial anxiety of having someone in her bed, there was something about the feeling of this person next to her that started to put her at ease. But that was crazy. She was a complete stranger. A stranger that she was almost positive she hadn’t had sex with but otherwise had no idea what all they’d gotten up to together. How could her simple sleeping presence make her feel better when she couldn’t recall any other detail about her aside from how amazing her lips had felt?

Was she **still** drunk and that’s why she felt at ease next to the slumbering woman?

She frowned again. She didn’t feel drunk. Hungover, maybe, as her head continued to pound. But definitely not drunk.

She grabbed her phone, trying to move slowly as to not wake the person next to her. She knew she needed to wake her at some point, but she wanted to get as much information that her texts could provide before mounting the awkward conversation of _who are you_ and _what all did we do last night_ and _time for you to leave._

Her phone unlocked, showing 100% battery life. Whatever they’d done last night, it was over with enough time to have the cognitive thought to plug her phone in and to let it charge fully. Or perhaps she’d plugged it in before they’d started anything? Asami was always the pragmatic one. But she doubted that if they had continued the kissing that she’d remembered from the bar once they got back to the hotel room that she would have thought about something as trivial as her phone.

She pulled open her text messages and found a new text conversation from a number that wasn’t programmed into her phone. It had an area code from the Southern Capital, and she’d received it at 1:14 AM. She tapped the message, and a long series of messages opened:

> _Hi. So. This is a first for me. My name is Korra – I’m the person in bed with you. Or I’m the person who was in your bed with you before you got up? I have no idea where you’re going to be when you read this. Or if you’ll actually read it before I wake up or not._
> 
> _ANYWAY_
> 
> _Let me start over._
> 
> _Hi. I’m Korra. Please don’t panic that I’m in your hotel room. You asked me to stay last night after everything that happened at Benders. You recorded a video on your phone explaining what happened and that might be a good place to start._
> 
> _Oh, one more thing – if you want me to leave please don’t hesitate to tell me (or wake me up and ask me to leave. I’m probably still asleep. I sleep hard. But that’s not the point here…) I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything. So if you want me gone, don’t feel bad about giving me the boot._
> 
> _Oh and one more thing. Last thing – I promise. Nothing happened between us last night in your hotel, so please don’t panic thinking you’ve had a one-night-stand or anything. You’re sleeping as I’m texting this, so there’s no chance of something happening after this awkward string of messages from me._
> 
> _Oh, spirits I just re-read all of this. I sound like a mess. I’m going to go to sleep now. I hope I don’t scare you or anything in the morning. Sweet dreams._
> 
> _Sleep well. Dumb autocorrect._
> 
> _But you’re reading this in the morning after sleeping._
> 
> _Well. Good Morning. Sorry, I’m an awkward fool. For reals, I’m going to sleep now._

Asami couldn’t stop the smile that was spreading over her face and brought a hand up to her lips to try and muffle a small giggle that escaped her throat while she read the stream-of-consciousness that this Korra girl had texted to her. Korra seemed like a nervous ball of energy if her texting was any indication. More than that, she seemed incredibly sweet and kind-hearted. Something she’d never really had in a partner before.

She blinked hard at that thought.

They weren’t dating. She didn’t even remember the entire evening with this woman. Why the hell was she thinking about traits she had or hadn’t had in previous partners? It’s not like she was going to date this woman or anything for a multitude of reasons. Mainly – there’s no way she knew the woman well enough after one drunken night at a bar together. Secondly – she wasn’t keen on starting a long distance relationship, especially with all the things happening for her company right now. She was simply too busy to have another priority in her life. It wouldn’t be fair to whoever she was dating.

She pushed the thoughts of dating far out of her mind and focused on finding the video file that Korra had mentioned in her texts. Once she located the video she almost pressed play but stopped herself; she didn’t want to wake Korra with the sound of the video. She still wanted to know more about the previous night before rousing the woman and mounting any kind of conversation.

She moved the comforter back with the thought to go and listen to the video in the bathroom while she brushed her teeth and took some of the aspirin that had been so graciously prepared for her. As she moved to slide her legs out of bed, though, the arm around her waist tightened and pulled her back. Korra made a small noise of displeasure and moved her head again, moving more on her side and nuzzling her face into the back of Asami’s neck and into her hair. As Korra’s exhale hit the base of Asami’s neck, a wave of shivers cascaded down her spine and pooled low in her core. Her neck was incredibly sensitive and often a spot her partners overlooked. The feeling caused a high pitched moan to catch in Asami’s throat.

Korra was incredibly warm and her body felt intoxicating to be next to – firm muscles of her arms that held her close while maintaining a gentle touch on her waist, the soft compression of her breasts against Asami’s back, and the tickling of her breath on her neck – the combination made Asami almost give in to her most base of urges and roll over and kiss the woman awake. But she knew that that would be wholly inappropriate despite how much her body wanted to feel more of the woman next to her.

Asami desperately wanted to get out of bed. She wasn’t sure how long she could handle being next to Korra, whose warmth was quickly reminding her of a furnace now that their bodies were flush together. Especially with a steadily growing heat between her legs that had nothing to do with Korra’s radiating body temperature.

She tried again to move out of the bed, using a hand in an attempt to move Korra’s arm but it only made Korra hold her tighter and move her other arm from under Asami’s pillow to under her shoulders.

This woman wasn’t going to let her out of bed in the state that she was in. Asami bit her lip. She wasn’t ready to have a conversation with her yet. She needed more information. She never went into a meeting without knowing all the facts. That’s why she was so successful in business meetings – she knew things. Everything about her company and everything that she was _legally_ allowed to know about the companies that she dealt with and her competitors. She was thorough. She didn’t do well with unknowns. Unless it was an engine. She could tinker with unknowns on an engine for hours and be happy. But people were more complex than the gears and springs of machinery.

Thankfully, as her eyes darted around the room thinking of how to get out of Korra’s grasp, she noticed that her Bluetooth earpiece was on her nightstand. She glanced over her shoulder at Korra and waited for the strong woman to relax enough for her to move to grab it. As it was, she wasn’t going to be able to reach it, and if she flailed her arm too much at it, she was bound to wake the woman up.

After a few minutes of listening to Korra breathe, her grip around her waist loosened to the point that Asami was sure she’d be able to grab the earpiece. She moved quickly, her fingers grasping the earpiece just as Korra’s grip re-tightened around her waist.

_Wow is she clingy,_ Asami thought as she turned the device on and put it snugly in her ear. The device beeped in her ear, indicating that it was registered and ready for use. She hit the play button of the video on her phone.

The video started and Asami was surprised to see how close the video was on her face. She was sitting on the hotel bed, smiling at whoever was holding her phone. She was wearing the hoodie that she’d woken up in and could see that she was holding someone else’s hand – presumably, Korra’s, as the skin was darker in contrast to her paler skin. Asami fingers were laced with Korra’s, but their hands kept moving as Asami’s drunk-self kept bringing the hand up to her mouth, almost kissing it, then bringing it away.

The video was a little unsteady as the phone moved in Korra’s hand and the focus went in and out a few times before it finally focused on her own face. Asami watched her inebriated-self look past the phone at Korra. It was strange to see her expression – but she looked happy and flirtatious and more than comfortable with the stranger in her hotel room.

“Is it recording?” her video-self asked. Her speech was slow and slightly slurred.

“Yup,” presumably Korra said from behind the phone. Asami’s heart fluttered when she heard her voice. She wasn’t prepared for the warm muscular woman next to her to have a voice like that.

“Shouldn’t you say action or something?” she asked, using a free hand to toss her long hair over her shoulder.

“It’s not like we’re making a film. But, I could say it if you’d like.” The woman behind the camera laughed nervously.

Asami saw herself shrug coyly before smiling wide. “I’ll just dive right in. Okay, morning me. Last night, you were – Wait. Do I _really_ need to repeat this? This seems silly.”

“I mean, yeah?” Korra said. “You might not remember anything in the morning.”

“I doubt I could forget you,” Asami said after a long pause. Her tone was beyond flirtatious. It was downright suggestive. Her video self even bit her own lip, looking up and down past the phone.

There was another nervous laugh from behind the phone. “But you might.”

“Fiiine,” Asami said and playfully rolled her eyes before winking past the phone. She then cleared her throat and looked directly at the camera. “I was out drinking last night at Benders. You know, the bar that Juichi kept talking about? Well, I went, and some sexual predator slipped something in my drink and Korra – Korra, you should wave or something.”

Asami paused the video with her thumb and brought her free hand over her mouth to cover it.

_I was drugged?!_ Asami thought dramatically. _Why in the spirit world was I be flirting with this woman if I knew I was drugged?! I should’ve been upset! I should have gone to the hospital or called the police!_

Her eyebrows furrowed and she took in a deep breath. The time on the video said there were seventy-five seconds left to watch. Maybe they had called the police. The video had to have more answers on it.

She began chewing on the inside of her cheek as she pressed the play button with her thumb again.

The video moved in a blur as the camera moved off of Asami until it was slightly out of focus on Korra’s face, extremely close as she smiled and then moved the phone back to point at Asami, whose smile had grown wider.

“So Korra swooped in and saved the night by pretending to by my girlfriend to get the guy to leave me alone. Only after we shared an earth-shattering kiss did I start to feel the effects of whatever he’d put in my drink,” Asami listened to herself say. There was a lilt of fear in her recorded voice, and she blinked and looked away from the camera. There were definitely emotions running through her head.

She watched herself blink and then looked down at her hand and smile. She brought her and Korra’s hand up and put the back of Korra’s hand to her chest and hugged her forearm and smiled warmly again to Korra behind the phone.

“Korra helped me to my hotel room, even carried me when my legs gave out. And it was my idea to have her stay. I asked her to stay the night. And sheeee,” Asami said, a playful expression taking over her face as she pointed to Korra. “Put me in a hoodie because apparently sleeping next to someone in her underwear that you don’t know is probably a little forward. Especially after the kisses we’ve exchanged tonight.”

“Probably?” Korra coughed, nervousness still painted in her voice.

Asami shrugged and then winked again. “Anyway – the point is you told her to be here and don’t freak out that she’s in your bed.” Asami’s video-self looked down at her hand and smiled wider before looking back up to the phone. “And, Korra, what did I tell you to do?”

“To not let go of you,” the woman said, her voice quiet.

“Exactly,” Asami said before she moved their hands to make a show of them touching each other. “So, when you wake up and wonder who this delightfully strong, stunning woman is in your bed who you have an uncontrollable urge to kiss, don’t panic. You asked her to be there.”

“Uncontrollable?” Korra asked. Asami could hear the smile on her voice despite not being able to see her face in the video.

Asami smirked. “You have no idea.”

She heard the woman behind the phone swallow loudly before clearing her throat. “Erm… well – is there anything else you want to add for your morning self to hear?”

“Only that you’re about as red as a tomato and that you’re cute and that I really appreciate you and everything you’ve done for me tonight,” Asami said quickly, her eyes playfully watching the woman behind the phone.

“Cute?!” Korra objected. “What happened to liking that I’m strong?”

Asami’s smile reached her eyes as she played with her bottom lip with her teeth. “I can still think you’re sexy and that you’re cute because you’re blushing.”

The video blurred as the phone was moved. Before the video cut out, Asami could hear Korra make a few noises of protest before laughing nervously and then saying, “I think it’s time for bed,” and then the video stopped.

Asami stared at her phone screen until it went blank as her head reeled. There was a lot to process from the short video but still not enough information for her liking. But it did help her understand why the Korra girl felt so good next to her. She’d apparently trusted her the night before and for a good reason. She’d been the reason she’d gotten home safe from whatever might have happened from the sexual predator who slipped something in her drink. It was strange to watch herself watch someone – but she couldn’t deny the look on her recorded face. She’d seen a range of emotion from the attraction, to fear when recalling the moment of feeling the effect of the drugs kick in in her system, to flirtation of relishing in making the poor woman behind the camera blush by her remarks.

She still didn’t know why she hadn’t called the police or gone to the hospital. But knowing herself, she probably hadn’t wanted to make a scene and jeopardize any of her business dealings. That’s just what she needed – headlines about a potential sexual assault tied to Future Industries. She hated that that was probably her reasoning last night for not going through with any formal kind of report. Her success as a businesswoman shouldn’t be tarnished because she reported a sexual predator – but she knew how the media handled these things. They were bound to blow it out of proportion and somehow have it turned on her in a negative light.

It made her stomach churn at the thought of the man she couldn’t recall from last night getting away with what he’d done and possibly done to another woman or women. She frowned and then let out a sigh and unlocked her phone again. She opened her calendar and made an appointment for 6pm to go back to Benders and see if they had any kind of video surveillance. She had one of the best lawyers in Republic City and an excellent public relations team that she’d built after her father was sent to jail and his long, drawn-out public trial. If her company could handle its founder being put in prison, it could handle Asami fighting against a sexual predator. She owed it to herself and the other women he potentially had hurt.

Writing out her notes of what she needed to do next were made slightly more manageable by the sheer presence of the woman next to her. The stranger felt safe. Reassuring. And most of all, protective with how she held onto her in her sleep.   

She pulled the earpiece out of her ear and put the device and her phone on the edge of the bed and then slowly turned in Korra’s loose arms to face her. The woman was still fast asleep, her mouth just barely open as she slumbered away. But as she slept, her arms tightened around Asami again, pulling her slightly closer.

Asami found herself smiling at the sleeping woman. She’d apparently asked her last night to not let go of her, and here she was, hours later, still holding her, actively pulling her closer whenever it felt like she was moving away. She wasn’t clingy. She was diligent. Even in her sleep she actively kept the promise she’d made to an emotionally fragile stranger the night before.

Before she realized what she was doing, she moved her hand up and tucked a displaced piece of hair behind Korra’s ear and then let her hand linger on the woman’s cheek. When it registered that she was touching the woman somewhat intimately, she almost pulled her hand away, but there was something about the slumbering woman that made her keep her hand where it was. Korra was so easy to touch, and her skin felt inviting under her fingertips. The weight of her arm over her waist, the warmth radiating off of her body as she held her, her quiet breathing noises coming from her barely open mouth – all of it put Asami’s mind at ease and erased the building stress about what all she needed to do later today to see justice served. For a split second, she thought she could conquer anything with this woman near her.  

How had she been so lucky to happen upon a stranger like her last night? Asami was always skeptical of others and was reluctant to trust people. Her history of her father’s shady business dealings that had landed him in jail, with people trying to use her as a pawn in their own business schemes, or trying to steamroll her in an attempt to take over her company. Everyone always wanted something from her. But this sleeping woman had apparently helped her out of the goodness of her heart and hadn’t done anything that Asami hadn’t asked for.

Asami’s thumb moved, caressing the bottom lip of the slumbering woman. Her lip was soft, and Asami resisted the urge to lean forward and kiss her. Everything about how they were situated was comfortable. Korra’s strong arms wrapped around her, the feeling of her warm leg muscles pressed against Asami’s thigh, and the curve of her body that fit effortlessly next to her own.

How could another person feel so inviting?

She felt herself beginning to lean in towards Korra’s lips and froze. But just as she stopped, Korra furrowed her eyebrows and scrunched her nose and stretched her arms out. She looked quite cat-like as she stretched forward, her back arching out and her arms reaching forward. As she relaxed from the stretch, her arms wrapped tightly around Asami’s waist before she rolled onto her back, pulling Asami with her. Asami let out a startled yelp as her body was moved. When Korra settle in bed, she’d forcefully pulled Asami directly on top of her, pinning her arms between their chests.

Asami looked up and down Korra’s face and was overcome with ideas of how to wake her from this position. All she had to do was move her legs just so, and she’d be straddling the muscular woman beneath her. She could kiss the woman awake, tease her awake by kissing down her sculpted neck, or let her hands tease their way down the woman’s body as she traced the lines of her muscles.

She wriggled her hands out from underneath her weight and moved her hands rest on the mattress, just above the woman’s shoulders to alleviate some of her weight off of Korra. Despite how easy it would be to do all those things and how inviting the body underneath her was, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She’d seen the texts and the video and knew they had some sort of connection. Her body very much remembered Korra’s body as she was pressed against her. But she didn’t remember anything naturally herself. Who knew what type of conversation they’d had. She didn’t even know if Korra was actually into women. She could have just been a helpful stranger who was too polite to tell her no when Asami had asked her to stay.

Before she had the opportunity to abandon her conviction of keeping her hands and lips to herself, she leaned down and whispered into Korra’s ear.

“Korra?”

The slumbering woman grumbled slightly and moved her head to the side, facing away from Asami’s lips. She then moved one of her legs slightly, her thigh coming up between Asami’s legs and coming in contact with her center.

Asami swallowed the noise that had been about to escape from her throat and grasped the sheets of the bed. This woman had no right to feel as good as she did. Nor did she have any right to be able to elicit such noises from Asami while she was asleep and not actively trying. It wasn’t fair. It made Asami’s conviction of keeping her hands to herself that much harder.

Asami saw a hair tie discarded on the sheets to her left – presumably from Korra. Her short brown hair was strewn across the pillow underneath her head as her sleeping face continued to look away from Asami.

She brought one of her hands up and ran her fingers firmly through the woman’s hair, making a point of using her nails. She wanted it to feel good but also wanted it to be a noticeable feeling that might wake the woman.  

“Ko-orra?” Asami said, dragging out the woman’s name at a normal volume instead of whispering this time as her nails reached the back of Korra’s head. “Wake up, sleepy head.”

The woman made a happy noise as her body started to stir more. After a few more passes of her nails through Korra’s hair, Korra’s eyes slowly blinked open. She looked Asami over and smiled, her arms moving from wrapped around Asami’s waist to her hands gliding down her back to find the hem of the hoodie. Korra moved her head forward as her hands moved underneath the fabric of the hoodie, her eyes closing slightly.

Asami held her breath. She wasn’t expecting a kiss to be the result of waking up the woman, but she wasn’t about to stop one if Korra initiated it. She also guessed that this answered her query regarding whether or not the woman was into other women.

Just as their noses touched Korra’s body went rigid and her eyes wide. Korra then flattened herself on the mattress and firmly held her hands in place on the skin of Asami’s lower back. Asami tried not to let her disappointment show that they hadn’t kissed, considering the closer Korra had gotten to doing it the more she wanted it, too.

“Uh, hi,” Korra said breathlessly.

Asami couldn’t help but smile down at her. “Good morning.”

Asami hair cascaded over her left shoulder, creating a small curtain for the two women against the sun peeking through the blinds. She could see a rosy hue on Korra’s cheeks as her eyes searched Asami’s. She could feel the woman breathe underneath her and it felt like her body temperature was rising.

“Um, you can let go of me now. I mean,” Asami paused, searching Korra’s eyes as she felt her eyebrows give a suggestive arch. “If you want to, that is.”

“Shit—I’m sorry!” Korra said as her hands moved immediately from Asami’s back and flattened her palms on the mattress.

Asami was sad at the loss of contact on her back from the warm hands of the muscular woman beneath her. But she knew that there was bound to be some awkwardness. It was time to get that over and done with.

“No need to be sorry. I quite like the feeling of your arms around me,” Asami let herself admit as she began moving. She moved off of Korra so that she was sitting in the bed next to her. She ran her hand through her thick hair to reposition it out of her face. “I just wasn’t sure you wanted me on top of you.”

Korra propped herself up on her elbows and raised a nervous eyebrow. “Um… why _were_ you on top of me?”

Asami smirked. “I think you took your duties of _not letting go of me_ very seriously,” she started. She wanted to reach out and touch Korra again somehow. Her body felt cold without the warmth of Korra directly next to her. But she refrained and continued. “I woke up with your arms still around me. And when you moved onto your back, you pulled me with you.”

“Oh. So,” Korra started as a smile started to spread over her face as she sat up fully in bed. “You remember last night, then?”

Asami shook her head. “It’s a little fuzzy. But I watched the video you had me record.”

“Ah.” Korra frowned.

Before she could stop herself, Asami reached out and moved a piece of hair out of Korra’s face and tucked it behind her ear. The woman was so easy to touch; it was hard to remember that she didn’t actually know her.

“What’s wrong?” Asami asked as her fingers lingered.

Korra looked from Asami to her hand and blinked a few times. She then let out a sigh and brought her hands together in her lap.

“I was just hoping you’d remember the night,” she started as Asami withdrew her hand. She tapped her thumb against the blanket a few times before meeting Asami’s gaze again. “But I can’t say I’m surprised, given what happened.”

“You mean being drugged?” Asami clarified bluntly.

Korra’s face winced, and her frown deepened. “Yeah.”

Their movement moved the blanket just so to reveal the dark skin of Korra’s leg. Asami took a second to look over the woman once more, now that she was in an upright position. She had apparently gone to bed in her underwear, boy shorts by what little she could see, and her tank top. A colorful sports bra peeked out from the straps of the tank and left her relaxed muscles visible. The muscles in her forearm and triceps thrummed as her thumb continued to tap against the blankets.

Asami moved her hand over top Korra’s moving one. The warmth from the woman immediately began to radiate into her palm.

“Well, I appreciate you and all of your help, Korra.” Asami squeezed Korra’s hand and tried to catch her eye again. “What I do remember from last night, you’re in all of it. And…well,” she paused. She smiled to herself and rethought what she was about to say. Now wasn’t the time to tell the woman that she liked her or enjoyed the feeling of her or how much she enjoyed kissing her or how being close to her made her body ache for something more. She felt her cheeks grow hot. “Never mind.”

Korra’s eyebrow arched as she watched Asami’s expression change. “You can tell me, y’know.” Her fingers moved, her thumb catching Asami’s forefinger and caressing it slightly. “If you want to, of course.”

Asami met Korra’s blue eyes and smiled. This woman had no right to be this sweet. She wasn’t at all prepared for it and liked it more than she thought she would. She’d always had partners and flings with people who were blunt or demanded to know things. This Korra girl was proving to be anything but what she was used to.

“I remember feeling safe with you,” Asami said instead of the other things floating around in her head.

“Yeah,” Korra said as she smiled and looked down. “You said that a few times last night.”

Asami stopped herself from biting her lip while she watched Korra’s demeanor shift into something akin to shyness. Instead, she squeezed the woman’s hand.

“And I still mean it this morning. After my initial shock of waking up to someone in bed with me… your presence still put me at ease. Especially because I’m not one to go home or take strangers home with me that I meet at bars,” Asami added. For some reason, she felt the need to assure the woman that she didn’t take just anyone home, even when she had her full wits about her.

“I’m,” Korra started as a blush reappeared across the woman’s dark cheeks. She smirked, her lips pulling to the side as she brought her free hand up to rub her neck, not quite meeting Asami’s gaze. “I’m glad.”

Asami watched Korra for a moment. Korra was looking around the blankets, occasionally at their hands that were still touching, and the window, again not meeting Asami’s watchful eye. Asami took her slight movements and the fact that she was still blushing and assumed that the muscled woman was beginning to feel awkward.

She couldn’t have that. But she also felt a bit selfish and didn’t want her interaction with this attractive stranger to end just yet. She moved her hand from on top of Korra’s to the warm dark flesh of her thigh.

“What do you say I buy you breakfast?” she offered.

Korra blinked hard and looked briefly at Asami’s hand and then up to her face, her cheeks a shade darker. “What? No – you don’t have to do that!”

Asami chuckled. “I know I don’t. But I want to. It’s the least I can do for my knight in shining armor,” she said with a wink. “And besides, it’ll give us a chance to get to know each other outside of last night. I’m sure I made a terrible first impression.”

Korra smiled as the shade of red across her cheeks deepened further. She bit her lip before looking away and rubbing her neck again. “I… I mean… I wouldn’t say that.”

Asami eyed her. Then more fog lifted in her head from the night before; she remembered that the reason she couldn’t remember how the two met prior to kissing was because they hadn’t. Not really. Korra had held up a napkin that explained how she could help from behind the man she’d been drinking with. His features were still fuzzy in her mind’s eye but not the kiss that soon followed after she’d chosen the _lover_ option. Their kiss had been their first encounter. Asami had initiated it and had intended it to only be an over the top display to get away from the fuzzy man in her memory, but she hadn’t been prepared for how good Korra would feel. The kiss had gone from a performative greeting to getting utterly lost in the stranger's lips and wanting to leave with her to get to know her. Apparently, she’d gotten part of her wish by leaving the bar with her. Breakfast would allow her to get to know her, fulfilling the rest of her wish.

“ _Too good_ of a first impression?” Asami teased after her memory caught up with her.

“Let’s just say,” Korra said a bit shakily. “I don’t think anyone will top it anytime soon.”

Asami bit the edge of her lip as she forced herself to not let her mind dive in the rabbit hole of topping Korra or what kind of top Korra would be in the bedroom. Normally she was one who liked to be in control, but part of her felt like she’d be willing to let Korra have the reins.

“I’m okay with that,” Asami said as a smile spread across her lips, possibly betraying her thoughts because she watched Korra’s eyes look at her lips and back up at her eyes and her blush darken yet more. She imagined that the current shade of red on her cheeks was the same shade she’d been last night when they’d ended recording the video that caused her to compare her to a tomato.

“So, breakfast?” Asami asked.

“S-sure!” Korra stammered, blinking and then nodding, forcing herself to look away from Asami’s face.

Asami patted Korra’s thigh and then withdrew her hand before she let herself get carried away with more touching, as Korra’s skin was so inviting and warm underneath her fingertips. She moved her legs and started to get out of bed.

“Let me get ready real quick. There’s a good diner just down the street we can walk to if that’s alright with you,” Asami offered.

“Sounds perfect.”

Asami stood from the bed and was aware of how much of her skin was showing. Granted, it was just her legs, but she was sure that Korra got a view of her panties as she stood up. Then again – it was possible that Korra had been the one to put her in the hoodie she was wearing last night. She’d probably already seen everything.

She smiled to herself as her hands touched the front of the hoodie.

“And you’re welcome to stay in here if you’d like,” Asami offered as she glanced at Korra over her shoulder. “Or if you’d rather, you’re welcome to any part of the hotel suite.”

Korra arched an eyebrow, watching Asami move. “Huh?”

Asami upended the hoodie off of her body, deliberately showing off as much as she could. She didn’t have muscle definition like Korra, but she had a body that she was proud of. Despite possibly having already seen her last night, Asami wanted to see what seeing her without the large garment on would do to Korra. She wasn’t disappointed when she turned around, thankful for her matching panties and bra – dark red and lacey.

If Korra blushed any darker, she was sure steam would start pouring out of her ears. Her eyes looked Asami up and down several times, and Asami could see the woman swallow nervously before she licked at her bottom lip. She then blinked hard and threw the blankets off of herself.

“I-I’ll wait in the l-living room,” Korra sputtered as she shot out of bed. She went straight for the door, stopped, turned around and grabbed what looked like her jeans off of the floor, and then started walking towards the door again at almost a jog.

Asami couldn’t help but laugh silently to herself. This girl was too easily flustered, and she quite enjoyed it. Mainly because it made her dangerously curious about what Korra was thinking or forcing herself not to do.

“Help yourself to the spare toothbrush in the main bathroom,” Asami called out after her as she made it through the bedroom door.

“T-thanks!” Korra called back.

Asami smiled and then held the hoodie to her chest, leaning her head down just enough to bury her nose in the fabric of the hood. The hoodie had both of their personal aromas intermingled together, Asami’s perfume mixed with a slight hint of lemongrass and eucalyptus. She smiled to herself.

The two smells complimented each other perfectly.


	5. Our First or Our Second Date?

The Otter Penguin Diner wasn't anything special, but the small eatery provided exactly what Asami had been looking for – a chance to get to know the charming stranger she'd woken up with. The cramped diner had been packed with a Saturday brunch crowd. They had sat together at a small table in the corner, and Asami's entire focus had been on the charismatic, if a little shy, woman. Asami still found herself having a difficult time keeping her hands to herself; there were at least a half dozen times where she caught that she'd touched the woman while they spoke, usually after laughing by putting her hand on her forearm. But Korra didn't seem to mind.

The two had been able to eat and have good conversation: They'd talked briefly about what had happened the night before, but Asami changed topics when she noticed the shorter woman start to blush and fumble through her words again when they started talking about how she got Asami to bed. She asked her to tell her about herself instead, and the woman's demeanor immediately shifted. She was still clearly nervous around Asami and seemed to have a perpetual rosy hue to her cheeks, but when she started talking about growing up in the Southern Capital, she stopped fumbling over her words and instead smiled as she spoke.

She learned that this charming woman grew up in the Southern Capital and had never really traveled outside of it; she'd gone to the surrounding areas when she was younger for snowboarding and snowmobiling with her family but had never ventured further. They also talked about how she was a rookie to the competitive MMA arena and was currently on a short vacation before ramping up her training schedule for her first official fight in about a month's time. Asami appreciated that even though the woman was incredibly physically fit, she never once bragged about her appearance, her muscles, or her workout routine. She instead spoke positively about how she was inspired by others, how excited she was to see other peoples' progress in their fitness, and some minor frustrations with the league rules and her coach.

Asami could have stayed in the diner for hours talking with the woman. She was funny, impossibly polite to the wait staff, and refused to only talk about herself but preferred to have an active conversation between the two of them. She was refreshing to be around and easy to open up to. She wasn't like the business professionals that she was constantly surrounded by in her work life or non-business associates who knew her family name and got a starstruck in her presence. Korra didn't seem to be at all phased by who she was, or at least, was good at hiding it. Her initial nervousness seemed to stem from something else. Perhaps it was merely a holdover from the night before, and the morning they'd shared.

Had it not been for her meeting, she would have spent the entire day with this woman. But the time was getting closer to noon, and she still had notes at her rented office space to review before she set foot into her meeting. Meeting someone as amazing as Korra was no excuse for her to slack in her work duties, no matter how tempting the notion was.

The door to the street opened, and Asami smiled when the sun hit her skin. Despite it being late spring, the air was somewhat chilly, and the slight breeze in the air mixed the heat of the sun with the cool breeze of the nearby sea creating pockets of hot and cold on the air. Republic City never felt like this despite being on the water, too. It was a sensation that Asami hadn't expected to grow to like, but it was one of the many charming things about the area that made her happy that work kept bringing her back here.

Korra held the door as Asami walked through, offering a genuine smile. Asami stopped herself from reaching out and touching Korra's waist as she walked past her. Korra had been okay with arm touching, but reaching out for her side wasn't something that she'd done and definitely wasn't something they'd talked about in their almost two-hour breakfast date.

Asami smiled to herself.

Had this been a date? It felt like a date. But she had just said she was buying her breakfast as a thank you. She hadn't actually asked Korra out. And besides, she wasn't in the area to find love. She was here for work.

The door to the diner closed and Asami turned around, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled when she saw the shorter woman; Korra had her face up to the sun, her eyes closed as she smiled upward without showing teeth.

Asami allowed herself to stare for a space of heartbeats. Korra was absolutely breathtaking. She was beautiful. She already knew that from watching her this morning before she woke up. But after speaking with her in the diner and now watching her soak up the sunshine just showed how vibrant the woman was and how much appreciation she had for the small things. She'd never gone out with someone who took a moment to appreciate the heat of the sun; usually, they'd shield their eyes or automatically pull out a pair of sunglasses or complain about it. But not Korra. She was face up like a flower soaking in every ray of sunshine and all the vitamin D that she could. The sun cascaded over the front of her, causing small shadows to emphasize the muscles along her exposed arms.

_Spirits, I could get used to this,_ Asami thought, thinking of what it would be like to wake up with Korra every day and watch her greet the morning weather. She smiled to herself, biting the inside of her lip.

Korra wasn't something she had time to get used to seeing, though. Not only was she a few meetings away from landing her deal to start construction on her new factory, she still had plenty of obligations back in Republic City. And she'd never had a relationship stand the test of her rigorous work schedule; she couldn't imagine how a long-distant relationship would fare any better. They required  _more_ effort, with devoted time to phone calls and video chatting and setting aside time to travel to see each other. Her previous relationships had been merely convenient – grabbing meals between meetings or after work and ample sleeping together at night. But work often ran long and would cut into time set aside for dates. There was a reason her relationships never lasted long.

She had to stop it before it started. She had to. This woman deserved a partner who would never miss a match, who could be her cheerleader through everything, and someone who could be wholly present.

She let out a sad sigh and then took a step forward, touching Korra's elbow.

"Enjoying the warmth?" Asami asked.

"Definitely," Korra grinned and then opened her eyes and met Asami's gaze. "It's been rainy the last few weeks, and whenever it has been sunny, I've been stuck in the gym. This feels nice."

Asami's breath caught. The grin on Korra's face made her eyes light up, and she looked genuinely happy. All the shyness and awkwardness of the morning was gone, and Asami felt as if she was looking at Korra without any filters. It was almost overwhelming. Almost.

She took a step into her. "Is it alright if I give you a hug before I have to run to my meeting?" she asked despite knowing it was probably a bad idea to let herself be held by this woman again. But she wanted at least one last embrace from her before she shut it down completely.

"Absolutely!" Korra smiled wide.

Asami didn't waste any time and slid her arms around Korra's shoulders. Korra's hands firmly moved to wrap around her waist and pulled her close. It was exactly the type of hug she was hoping for. The embrace wasn't timid or dainty; Korra's arms were strong and held her firmly and flushed to her front. Asami could feel Korra's breasts compress against hers as they breathed together and could feel the warmth of Korra's body radiate directly into her own skin. She could smell the faint scent of lemongrass and eucalyptus permeating from Korra's hair, causing a calmness to course through her body, as if the smell rode its way through her entire nervous system, systematically easing each muscle as it passed.

Despite being slightly shorter, Korra's body fit against hers perfectly. There was no denying it. There was something about when Korra touched her that made Asami feel like everything was where it was supposed to be. Her skin tingled in the spots where their skin made contact, and the feeling of her arms around her made her feel safe. She had never needed another human being to feel safe; she'd been taking martial arts since the age of seven and had kept it up until about three years ago when she simply couldn't fit it into her schedule anymore. But Korra felt safe. Safe physically and emotionally.

Asami tightened her arms around Korra, not wanting to let go.

This was silly – she was the CEO and owner of Future Industries. She made her own schedule. If she wanted to make a long distance relationship work, she could do it. She'd never actually tried to move her work schedule around to accommodate another person. Perhaps she was the reason her relationships always failed – because her previous partners had never felt like a priority. But none of them had felt like  _this_ before. She could easily make Korra a priority, especially if she continued to make her body feel the way it did when she was close. She was confident that her deal would go through, and once it did, she'd be down in the Southern Capital more than in Republic City until the factory was up and running to her standards. She would have time to get to know Korra. Time to get to know if the way she felt against her was a fluke, onset by a sheer lack of physical intimacy for over a year, or if it was something more. And by then, they'd have something figured out.

Asami always went after what she wanted professionally. Always. Was it so wrong to try to do it for her personal life, too?

_I'd be an idiot to not at least try asking her out,_ she thought.

"You know what else feels nice?" Asami asked just above a whisper as she started to loosen her grip around Korra.

Korra chuckled. "Hugs?"

"Specifically," Asami started as she leaned back, catching Korra's ice blue eyes. "You," Asami teased.

A blush spread across Korra's cheeks, but her demeanor didn't shift into nervousness like it had this morning after they'd woken up together. She held Asami's eyes confidently and licked her bottom lip.

Korra was about to say something when the door to the diner opened behind them, a small bell chiming as it did. An elderly couple was leaving the restaurant, but Korra and Asami were still standing in front of the door.

"Excuse us, sorry," Asami said as she started walking backward with her arms still around Korra, pulling the shorter woman with her.

Korra blinked and then muttered a quiet apology to the elderly couple and let Asami lead her a few steps away from the door of the diner.

Asami watched the elderly couple smile, wave at them, and then start walking away. They had to be in their nineties, at least. But they walked together, still holding hands. The older man stopped and then pointed to a flower in the window box of a shop next to the eatery, and it caused the older woman to smile and lean against his shoulder.

Asami smiled as she watched them walk. They were old and wrinkled and seemed very much in love. She felt her heart twinge – she wanted that. She wanted someone who loved her unconditionally and would be around for years and years to come. She had no idea if Korra was that person, but she'd never know if she didn't make proper time for a relationship and shifted her priorities.

"So, um," Korra started, her voice sounding nervous again as her hands began to withdraw from Asami's back.

Asami blinked and brought her attention back to Korra, who arms were still draped around. Asami didn't dare cling and let her arms fall away but didn't move back from her. Korra brought a hand up to her neck, rubbing the back of it apprehensively.

"So," she started again. "This whole thing has been a bit… different." Korra frowned and let out a breath, dropping her hand and letting her shoulders relax a little.

Asami watched her, unsure what the change in Korra's demeanor meant and braced for the worst. Of course, she could want the woman all she wanted, but that didn't change the fact that she had absolutely no clue how the shorter woman felt about her. Asami had been the one to initiate all of the contact so far. Had she simply misread everything?

"But," Korra continued. "Regardless of the crap that happened last night… I… um… I—" She stopped talking and furrowed her brow, chewing on the edge of her lip.

Asami tilted her head to the side and brought a hand up to gently touch the outside of Korra's arm. She felt like she knew Korra was going tell her that she hadn't signed up for all this and politely end whatever it was between them, but she didn't want to put words in her mouth.

"You what?" Asami asked softly, caressing the skin of Korra's arm with her thumb, trying to encourage her to be honest. She could take rejection without issue. But it looked like it was hard for Korra to get out.

Korra swallowed and then let out a breath, steeling her nerves for what she had to say.

Asami braced herself. She felt her tear ducts primitively activate, and she blinked a few times to get them to settle down. She could handle rejection. It was a part of life. A part of business.

"I was wondering if you'd… If you'd maybe want to go out with me sometime?" she managed to finally get out.

Asami blinked at her. That wasn't a rejection.

Korra swallowed again. "I mean, I know you're not from here, and you're traveling for work and all… but… it could be fun, right?"

"Go out," Asami repeated. "As in on a date?"

"Y-yeah!" Korra started, her smile faltering. "I mean—unless you just want to be frie—"

"Let's do dinner," Asami interrupted. She wasn't about to let this woman think she wanted to just be friends. And she knew the only thing on her schedule today was her one o'clock meeting. "Tonight, seven o'clock?"

Korra blinked rapidly, but her smile returned to her face. "Whoa, tonight?!"

"Is that a problem?"

"No!" Korra blurted and rushed to put her hands out to hold Asami's waist. "Spirits no! I just," she paused and looked Asami over. "You're just so confident and I… I wasn't one hundred percent sure that you were into me."

Asami was happy to feel the warmth of Korra's hands on her waist again. She couldn't help herself and put her hand on the plane of Korra's abdomen, slowly letting her nails drag an inch or so down.

"Oh I'm very interested," Asami said with a smile. "Despite everything that happened last night, you have been nothing but sweet, and kind, and chivalrous, and," she trailed off, pausing as she moved both of her hands to slide over Korra's collar bone and drape around her neck again as she took a small step forward. Korra's hands moved further back on her waist, welcoming the closeness.

Asami thought of kissing Korra to show her how she felt, but she didn't want to push any boundaries. She'd kissed her last night without her expressed permission. She wanted to be positive that that's what she wanted before doing anything of the sort.

"Well," Asami continued, her voice low and only for Korra to hear. "Let's just say that I like you a great deal already. Not to mention how much I enjoy the way you feel when you touch me or when you're close to me."

"Yeah?" Korra's smile spread as her hands pulled her closer, her hands coming together on Asami's lower back.

"That's not too forward, is it?" Asami asked, resisting the urge to bite her lip.

Korra shook her head. "Not at all. I like it," she admitted. "And you. I like you a lot, too."

Asami's smile widened as she let her fingers play with the hair on the base of Korra's head. "So, dinner?"

"Yes! Dinner tonight sounds great."

Asami's eyes looked over Korra's smiling face, down to her lips and then back up to her eyes. The way that they were holding each other still made her want to just pull the woman into a kiss. But she wasn't about to mess this up.

"So, would you consider dinner tonight our first or our second date?"

Korra blinked. "Wait. Was… was breakfast a date?" Korra asked, looking from Asami back to the diner.

Asami let herself smirk and then moved one of her hands to make her finger trail along Korra's jaw, drawing her attention back to her. Korra let Asami move her without any resistance and looked at Asami again, her mouth slightly agape.

"That depends," Asami said as she leaned in closer, moving her hand back to its previous position but taking the opportunity to let her nails rake gently on Korra's neck. Korra let out a labored breath before swallowing, her grip around Asami's waist tightening. "Are you someone who kisses on the first date? Or do you wait until the second date? Or some other indication?"

"We've already kissed," Korra said with a chuckle. "Buuuut I feel like that was more of a show for that weasel-slug of a creep last night," Korra added, looking from Asami's eyes to her lips and back up.

Asami bit the edge of her lip. "That kiss is the only thing I clearly remember about last night," she started as she leaned in a touch closer. "The kiss definitely started out that way, but then I just couldn't help myself."

"I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't enjoyed it, too." Korra grinned.

"If I remember right, I recall hearing you say  _holy fuck_ afterward," Asami teased.

The blush came crashing back to Korra's cheeks. "I said that out loud?!"

"You definitely did," Asami smirked, letting her fingers continue to play in Korra's hairline, dragging her nails every so often. "So, let me rephrase my question: when would it be appropriate for me to kiss you again?" Asami asked. "When would you normally kiss someone you're going on a date with?"

Korra looked at Asami for a space of moments. Her smile turned soft, and her eyes looked Asami over while her arms pulled her forward, closing what little distance that was left between them before shrugging.

"It depends entirely on the person."

"What about me?" Asami asked, looking slightly down at Korra.

Korra moved forward, pushing up on her feet just so until her lips met Asami's. Her lips were warm and gentle but tentative as though she was testing to see if this was what Asami wanted.

Asami answered by kissing Korra back with fervor. She didn't want this woman to think for a second that she wasn't interested or that her lips weren't exactly what she'd been craving all morning. Though she appreciated Korra's lips seeking an unspoken consent, she wanted more of how they'd kissed before.

The shorter woman matched Asami's pace once it was set, their lips moving together in a way that started to make Asami's head feel fuzzy. The warmth from Korra's malleable lips radiated into her, and she could feel it pool deep into her core. Kissing Korra now felt different than what she remembered from the night before. In comparison, Korra had been tense, reserved, and unsure. But now she was just as demanding as Asami in wanting closeness, her hands moving freely around Asami's lower back, as their mouths explored each other's with their own small demanding movements.

Asami knew she could easily get lost in Korra's lips. She had a flash of wanting to cancel her meeting and do just that; letting Korra's lips do whatever and go wherever they wanted while they hauled up in her hotel room. But she knew that she couldn't. Allowing herself to explore a possible relationship didn't mean shrugging off all of her duties as a business owner. And if she didn't stop kissing her soon, she was bound to get utterly lost in her lips. And making out on a sidewalk wasn't something she was entirely comfortable with, despite how comfortable the muscular woman made her.

As soon as she started to pull back, her lips began to miss the warmth of Korra's; she pushed forward once more, giving the shorter woman a kiss of simply the fullness of their lips pressed together. Korra hummed in approval.

Asami leaned her forehead against Korra's, pulling her lips away. She smiled to herself as her fingers gently traced the line of the back of Korra's neck.

Korra's lips were on hers again, but briefly. Asami could feel that she was smiling too.

"Does that answer your question?" Korra asked as her hands moved firmly to Asami's waist.

"Yes," Asami said softly, trying to mask that she was slightly out of breath. She wanted to grab her and kiss her again. She wanted to feel Korra's strong hands on skin and not through the fabric of her shirt.

Before she could even form a full thought of what to do next with the woman in front of her, her phone started to ring. Normally she'd let it go to voicemail, but it was the ring tone she'd programmed for her driving service while she was in the south.

_I really need to ship one of my cars down here,_ she thought with a frown.

"I'm sorry, but I have to take this," Asami said, withdrawing her hands from Korra as she went for her phone in her purse.

Korra simply smiled, nodding as she let her hands fall away from Asami's hips. She felt cold without Korra's body pressed against her or her hands on her.

Asami ignored her body's apparent longing for Korra's and brought her phone up her ear.

"Asami Sato speaking."

"Good Afternoon, Ms. Sato," the familiar receptionist of the car company started. "I wanted to inform you that your car is fifteen minutes away from The Spirit Grande. Is that still a good location for your pick-up this afternoon?"

Asami nodded and then remembered she had to actually speak. "Yes, thank you."

"Wonderful. Are there any other services we can provide you today?"

"I'll be needing a return pick-up," Asami said and then glanced at Korra who was patiently waiting. "And possibly another outing tonight, but I don't have the details yet."

"Not to worry, Ms. Sato. We'll ensure that a car and a driver is available tonight for you."

"Thank you."

"And you. Have a pleasant day."

"You do the same," Asami said and then hung up.

Korra looked at her for a space of moments. "Everything alright?"

Asami nodded, putting her phone away. "Yeah, that was just a courtesy call to let me know my ride is almost at the hotel. So," she paused, looking Korra up and down. She didn't want to leave, but she had work to attend to. "I have to start heading back if I'm going to make my afternoon meeting on time. But," she stopped again, this time placing her hand just above Korra's clavicle. "You have my number from last night, right?"

Korra's smile pulled to the side. "Sure do!"

"Perfect. Since you're from around here, why don't you pick where we go tonight on our date and then text me the address?"

"I actually think I know which place already!" Korra's smile widened, her teeth now showing as her eyes lit up. "You like seaweed noodles, yeah?"

"I can't say I've ever had them, but I'm more than happy to try something new!" Asami responded. Korra's excitement for the noodles was infectious.

"You'll love this place. It's super authentic southern food. Though," Korra paused, her lip pouting slightly. "It isn't very classy or upscale. Would you rather go to a fancier restaurant?" she asked, suddenly unsure of herself.

Asami couldn't help herself; she leaned forward and kissed Korra, moving her hand from Korra's clavicle to her cheek. She kept the kiss chaste, despite every urge in her body to pull her into a more passionate kiss.

"So long as I'm with you tonight," she said as she leaned back, keeping her hand on Korra's cheek. "I don't care where we go."

"I-I'll," Korra stammered as the rosy hue resurfaced on her dark cheeks. "I'll text you the address."

"And I'll see you at seven," Asami said with a wink.

She wanted to kiss her again but thought that if she did, she'd never make it back to her hotel in time to meet the car. She settled for letting her thumb caress Korra's cheek before letting her hand drop and taking a decisive step back. She held Korra's ice blue eyes, smiling and couldn't help but bite the edge of her lip.

Before she could take another step and break their eye contact, Korra stepped into her, her firm hand returning to Asami's slender waist and pulled her close, her lips crashing against hers. Asami let out a muffle surprise against her, causing Korra to recoil slightly, perhaps thinking she'd done something Asami hadn't wanted.

Asami couldn't have that. And it definitely wasn't that she didn't want to keep kissing Korra. Spirits that sounded exorbitantly better than anything she had planned for the rest of her stay in the Southern Capital, aside from their date.

As Korra leaned back, Asami grabbed the wide straps of her tank topped and pulled her back into the kiss, showing her that whatever Korra initiated was more than welcome. Korra responded, pulling her flush against her again.

Disregarding her previous inclination to not make out with Korra on the sidewalk, Asami let herself get lost in Korra lips and body – her arms moved back to the comfort of muscular woman's neck and shoulders, her nails gently scratching up in the back of Korra's hairline as she ran her tongue along the curve of Korra's lips. Korra immediately reciprocated, letting Asami's tongue explore her mouth as her strong hands kneaded on her back, urging her closer despite there being no room left between them.

Korra had no right to feel as good as she did. Her warmth from her body seeped directly into Asami's core, pooling dangerously low in her abdomen again. She wanted more – she wanted to feel Korra's skin against hers so that the warmth of the shorter woman's muscles seeped directly into hers. She felts like she could get lost in Korra for hours, if not days.

Her body arched into Korra's as her left foot moved behind her, causing her heel to pop ever-so-slightly and putting more of her weight into the muscular woman. Korra hands encouraged her pressing weight against her, a hand dipping past to the top of her butt while the other held her tightly around her upper back just around her bra line. How easy it would be for Korra to just unclasp her bra. She wanted it, there was no denying that, but they were still very much on a public street.

Korra must have also remembered because their kiss began to settle. Hungry exploration of each other's mouths turned into a slower, more methodical movements against each other. The change in technique from Korra caused Asami to moan into Korra's mouth. Her lips were impossibly soft and made her think of what else they were capable of doing alongside her strong hands. Asami made the conscious effort to put her foot back on the ground when she felt the heat between them cumulate in a newfound warmth and slight wetness in her panties.

The kiss slowed to a stop, and Korra pulled back slightly. Her muscular arms tightened around Asami's waist as she brushed her nose against Asami's before kissing her one more time. Soft, gentle, and not demanding anything more. And that feeling of not having any expectation made Asami want to start up all over again, but she wasn't given a chance as Korra began to withdraw.

Their chests compressed together as they both caught their breath. Asami couldn't help herself and kissed Korra one more time before putting her hands on Korra's shoulder and pointedly taking a step back.

Korra was grinning as she surveyed Asami's expression.

Was she the one blushing now?

If she was, it was because her body wanted things that she simply didn't have time for right now. But the more Asami thought about it, the more she realized that there was indeed a heat to her cheeks.

"See you at seven," Korra said, her voice low with just an edge of husky to it. Her grin pulled into a smirk as she began to slowly walk backward, letting the distance in her gate eventually pull her hands off of Asami's waist and falling away.

Asami bit her lip again but let Korra walk backward. She shook her head and smiled despite her body being sad at the loss of Korra's radiating heat. Her smile returned to her lips when she thought that there would be plenty of time later tonight to relish in her warmth again.

They shared a smile before Asami turned and started her trek back to the hotel. The diner was about a ten-minute walk from her hotel. The car was probably going to have to wait a minute, but she'd apologize in the way of a hefty tip. She was glad that she was already wearing her business outfit, but was sure she'd need to at least touch up her lipstick on the ride to the office building.

She glanced back over her shoulder to see that Korra was watching her walk with an ear to ear smile spread across her face. Korra waved at her and Asami did the same, but then made a conscious decision to exaggerate the sway of her hips as she walked, her heels confidently clacking against the concrete of the sidewalk.

She found herself unable to wipe the smile from her face as she turned her head back around to watch where her feet were going as she tucked a thick column of her free-flowing hair behind her ear. This was all completely unplanned, but Asami felt the swell of excitement stirring in her stomach.

Ten minutes was enough time for a phone call. She opened her purse while she waited to cross the street at a stop light and pulled out a posted note with a realtor's information written on it that she'd tucked away a few days ago after looking it up over a quick lunch in her office before dashing into a meeting with the city planner. Buying a condo in the area suddenly had much more of an appeal to it than it had before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was intended to simply be a one-shot that ended up being too long, so it became a short fic. However! If there's enough interest, I'd be more than happy to keep it going as a series of short one-shots or less than five chapter fluff short fics, and even some at higher maturity ratings. So if you're interested, let me know in the comments!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I'm absolutely humbled by the response I've gotten so far for writing in the Korrasami fandom. I've been an avid consumer of the fandom since I watched Legend of Korra back in 2014 and am happy to be producing content for it finally.
> 
> If you want to know what else I'm working on or want to jump in on the random polls I occasionally do for what to work on next or see the Last Line Memes that I post as teasers, feel free to follow me on Tumblr at MistressNoriko. I know Tumblr is kind of slowly fizzling out with its recent user agreement changes and now with potentially being up for sale again, but I'm on the lookout for other platforms. I'm terrible at twitter but could try my hand at making a twitter handle for my fanfiction work if there's any interest.
> 
> What are some other platforms that you use?


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